In New York, Mueller's referral prompted a fresh look at the lobbying firms of Washington insiders Tony Podesta and Vin Weber, who have faced scrutiny for their decisions not to register as foreign agents for Ukrainian lobbying work directed by Manafort.
Podesta is a longtime Democratic operative whose brother, John Podesta, ran Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign; Weber is a former Republican congressman from Minnesota.
The Podestas have been frequent targets of Trump and his associates, who have repeatedly demanded to know why Tony Podesta has not been arrested and charged.
In September, Manafort admitted to directing Mercury and the Podesta Group to lobby in the US on behalf of a Ukrainian political party and Ukraine's government, then led by President Viktor Yanukovych, Manafort's longtime political patron.
While doing the lobbying, neither the Podesta Group nor Mercury registered as foreign agents under a US law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires lobbyists to declare publicly if they represent foreign leaders, governments or their political parties.
Mercury and Podesta, which were paid a combined $2 million on the project, then registered under a less stringent lobbying law that doesn't require as much public disclosure as FARA. Both firms have said they registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, rather than FARA, on the advice of lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Craig's former firm.
The Podesta Group has said it was misled by the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, citing a written certification from the nonprofit stating it wasn't directed or controlled by the Ukrainian Party of Regions, one of Manafort's clients.
https://nypost.com/2018/12/05/feds-ramp-up-probe-into-podesta-lobbying-firm-with-ties-to-manafort/
Podesta is a longtime Democratic operative whose brother, John Podesta, ran Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign; Weber is a former Republican congressman from Minnesota.
The Podestas have been frequent targets of Trump and his associates, who have repeatedly demanded to know why Tony Podesta has not been arrested and charged.
In September, Manafort admitted to directing Mercury and the Podesta Group to lobby in the US on behalf of a Ukrainian political party and Ukraine's government, then led by President Viktor Yanukovych, Manafort's longtime political patron.
While doing the lobbying, neither the Podesta Group nor Mercury registered as foreign agents under a US law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires lobbyists to declare publicly if they represent foreign leaders, governments or their political parties.
Mercury and Podesta, which were paid a combined $2 million on the project, then registered under a less stringent lobbying law that doesn't require as much public disclosure as FARA. Both firms have said they registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, rather than FARA, on the advice of lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Craig's former firm.
The Podesta Group has said it was misled by the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, citing a written certification from the nonprofit stating it wasn't directed or controlled by the Ukrainian Party of Regions, one of Manafort's clients.
https://nypost.com/2018/12/05/feds-ramp-up-probe-into-podesta-lobbying-firm-with-ties-to-manafort/
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