‘Black Caviar’ • Possible ‘Pay to Play’ Scheme?
While chairman of the Donald Trump for President campaign Paul Manafort may have tried to leverage his position in a possible “pay to play” scheme by offering to give “private briefings” to a Russian oligarch who is closely tied to Vladimir Putin.
Now under investigation and reportedly warned to expect to be indicted, Manafort made the offer in an email via an intermediary just days before Trump officially became the GOP nominee.
“If he needs private briefings we can accommodate,†Manafort wrote on July 7, 2016, as The Washington Post first reported late Wednesday afternoon. The Russian oligarch is billionaire aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska.
The Post notes “investigators believe that the exchanges, which reflect Manafort’s willingness to profit from his prominent role alongside Trump, created a potential opening for Russian interests at the highest level of a U.S. presidential campaign.”
The Trump campaign chairman did not directly name Deripaska in the email, which was one of several discussing the Russian billionaire. Rather, Manafort and his employee, Konstantin Kilimnik, took great measures to hide Deripaska’s identity in the emails.
In one email, Manafort referred to Deripaska by his Initials, “OVD.” In another, one that has people on social media today laughing, “Kilimnik wrote in the July 29 email that he had met that day with the person ‘who gave you the biggest black caviar jar several years ago,’ according to the people familiar with the exchange. Kilimnik said it would take some time to discuss the ‘long caviar story,’ and the two agreed to meet in New York.”
Investigators believe that the reference to the pricey Russian luxury item may have been a reference to Manafort’s past lucrative relationship with Deripaska, according to people familiar with the probe.
Meanwhile, a former U.S. Attorney during the Obama era weighed in on this latest development, saying Manafort is in trouble.
“There is no evidence the briefings happened but strong suggestion of attempt & conspiracy at a minimum for quid pro quo public corruption,” Joyce Alene, a University of Alabama Law Professor who occasionally appears on MSNBC, tweeted. “Prosecutors call this ‘pay to play’ – Manafort wants to leverage his role on the campaign to extract payments. He’s toast,” she added.
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