Paul Manafort, an American lawyer and former campaign chairman of then-candidate Donald Trump, was ordered to surrender by federal authorities on Monday along with his associate Rick Gates, The New York Times reported. He turned himself in to the FBI’s D.C. office around 8:15 a.m., CNN reported.
Manafort has been a central figure in a swirl of investigations into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. The U.S. intelligence community confirmed in a public report that Russia had actively intended to disrupt the U.S. election and sway the result in President Trump’s favor and against his opponent, former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Born in 1949, Manafort grew up in New Britain, Connecticut in a political family. His father ran a construction company and served three terms as mayor, according to Business Insider. Rather than take up construction, Manafort left to earn a business and law degree at Georgetown University, according to Fortune.
He advised President Gerald Ford’s campaign in 1976, as well as those of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and has taken jobs as a political consultant around the world, the New York Times reported.
Manafort was Trump’s campaign chairman for about three months, but in that time he attracted increasing criticism for his work as a lobbyist for Russian interests in Ukraine. Manafort resigned on August 19, 2016, amidst reports that investigators were looking into millions in unreported cash payments from former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich and other parties. According to a Washington Post report, Manafort offered to provide private political briefings to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska just weeks before candidate Trump accepted the GOP’s nomination.
Manafort was also one of the attendees of a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who promised campaign officials, including Trump Jr. and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, damaging information on Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reported.
Manafort was replaced with Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway as chief campaign executive and campaign manager, respectively.
Manafort’s indictment comes weeks after special counsel Robert Mueller’s team raided his home in July.
Manafort is a Floridian, who is registered as a Republican to vote there since 2011. He owns a home in Palm Beach Gardens, about 90 minutes north of Miami.