Paul Manafort, Trump's ex-campaign chief, was 'grave counterintelligence threat' with ties to Russia during 2016 race, Senate report finds. The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee's new report on Russian election interference did not find collusion from the Trump campaign but expressed concerns, noting that former campaign chairman Paul Manafort's "Proximity to Trump created opportunities for Russian intelligence services to exert influence over, and acquire confidential information on, the Trump campaign." Ref. USAToday.
President Trump pardons former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Jared Kushner's father. The president's actions in the final weeks of his administration once again highlight the long shadow cast by the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, which resulted in the prosecution of Manafort, Stone and several other former aides to the president. Charles Kushner is the father of Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner. Ref. USAToday.