Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort who is at the centre of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe has been reported to have been wiretapped by U.S. government investigators both before and after the 2016 presidential election, Fox News reports.
According to a source, the said wiretapping was authorised by a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) after the FBI commenced investigating Manafort, in 2014. Investigations has focused on his financial dealings and lobbying efforts with pro-Russia and Ukrainian officials but he denied colluding with Russia to influence the election.
The monitoring stretched into 2017 following the renewal of the FISA warrant after the first one was discontinued last year.
So far from the surveillance, though not conclusive, there had been indications that Manafort may have pushed for Russian officials to help try to get then-candidate Donald Trump elected.
Earlier in July, the FBI raided Manafort’s Virginia home in search of financial documents relating to the 2016 election, and took documents and other materials related to Mueller’s investigation during the raid.
The raid was followed up with a warning to Manafort from Mueller’s prosecutors that they planned to indict him.
Manafort 68, is a longtime GOP operative who has previous working experience with former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, he stepped down as the Trump campaign’s chairman in August 2016 amid overwhelming speculation surrounding his ties to Ukrainian politics.
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