key figure at the Republican national convention where Donald Trump was nominated for president has strong business ties with Ukraine, the Guardian has learned.The party platform, written at the convention in Cleveland last week, removed references to arming Ukraine in its fight against pro-Russia rebels, who have received material support from the Kremlin. Trump’s links to Russia are under scrutiny after a hack of Democratic national committee emails, allegedly by Russian agents.
The coordinator of the Washington diplomatic corps for the Republicans in Cleveland was Frank Mermoud, a former state department official involved in business ventures in Ukraine via Cub Energy, a Black Sea-focused oil and gas company of which he is a director. He is also on the board of the US Ukraine Business Council.
Three sources at the convention also told the Guardian that they saw Philip Griffin, a long-time aide to Manafort in Kiev, working with the foreign dignitaries programme.
“So then you look at the United States and you say, ‘Well, which party’s policies would be more likely to allow me to achieve my objectives?’ That’s the way that a Russian leader would think.” With Democrats and journalists now trawling through Trump’s past dealings with “all the oligarchs”, as he once put it, as far back as the time of the Soviet Union, the candidate has repeatedly and angrily stated that he has “zero, nothing to do with Russia”. He has however continued to refuse to release his tax returns, which could prove his claim definitively.
The coordinator of the Washington diplomatic corps for the Republicans in Cleveland was Frank Mermoud, a former state department official involved in business ventures in Ukraine via Cub Energy, a Black Sea-focused oil and gas company of which he is a director. He is also on the board of the US Ukraine Business Council.
Mermoud has longstanding ties to Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who in 2010 helped pro-Russia Viktor Yanukovych refashion his image and win a presidential election in Ukraine. Manafort was brought in earlier this year to oversee the convention operations and its staffing.
Three sources at the convention also told the Guardian that they saw Philip Griffin, a long-time aide to Manafort in Kiev, working with the foreign dignitaries programme.
“So then you look at the United States and you say, ‘Well, which party’s policies would be more likely to allow me to achieve my objectives?’ That’s the way that a Russian leader would think.” With Democrats and journalists now trawling through Trump’s past dealings with “all the oligarchs”, as he once put it, as far back as the time of the Soviet Union, the candidate has repeatedly and angrily stated that he has “zero, nothing to do with Russia”. He has however continued to refuse to release his tax returns, which could prove his claim definitively.
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