FBI raids former Trump campaign chair’s home in Russia probe

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WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI agents have searched one of the homes of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, whose past foreign political work has been swept into the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. A Manafort spokesman confirmed the search Wednesday.

Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni said in a statement that FBI agents had obtained a warrant and searched one of Manafort’s homes, but he would not say when the search occurred. The Washington Post, which first reported the raid, said agents working Special Counsel Robert Mueller conducted the search the morning of July 26 at Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Va.

“Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well,” Maloni said.

Manafort has been a subject of a longstanding FBI investigation into his dealings in Ukraine and work for the country’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych. That investigation has been incorporated into the probe led by Mueller, who is also scrutinizing Manafort’s role in the Trump campaign as he looks into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and any possible collusion with Trump associates.

Manafort, who led the Trump campaign for several months, has denied any wrongdoing.

The use of a search warrant shows law enforcement officials have convinced a judge there is probable cause to believe a crime may have been committed.

Manafort has recently cooperated with congressional committees investigating the election interference. He sat for a private interview with staff of the Senate intelligence committee the day before the FBI raid.

The topic of the panel’s interview was confined to a June 2016 meeting Manafort attended with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr. That meeting, held at Trump Tower in New York, was described to Trump Jr. in emails as part of a Russian government effort to help the Trump campaign by passing along information that could be used against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

During the Senate committee interview , Manafort provided his recollection of the Trump Tower meeting and turned over contemporaneous notes he took during the gathering.

Manafort has also turned over other documents to the Senate intelligence committee as well as about 400 pages of records to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Meanwhile, the Judiciary Committee said Wednesday it has also received about 250 pages of documents from Trump Jr. and about 20,000 pages from the Trump campaign.

The content of the documents was not immediately clear. The committee said it received the Manafort and Trump campaign documents on Aug. 2 and the records from Trump Jr. on Aug. 4.

Judiciary committee leaders have also been in talks with Trump Jr. and Manafort about private interviews. The committee initially called for them to testify publicly, but lawmakers have since said they were negotiating the terms of their appearances.