Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has resigned. Manafort has been a figure of controversy – both in Trump’s campaign and in the housing industry
The chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign resigned today after a week of shake-ups in the Republican nominee’s operation, according to a Bloomberg report.
“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Trump said in a statement. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping us get where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”
Manafort has been a controversial figure, drawing scrutiny for his ties to the pro-Russian former president of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. He’s also been at the center of scandal in the housing industry. In the late 1980s, Manafort was criticized for using his connections at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to arrange funding for a $43 million housing rehabilitation project in Seabrook, N.J. His firm pocketed a $326,000 fee for its work, according to a Los Angeles Times article. The HUD approval came largely because of the personal influence of Deborah Gore Dean, the executive assistant to former HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce, Jr., the Times reported.
Manafort’s resignation comes after a campaign reshuffling that many saw as a demotion. On Wednesday, Trump named Breitbart News’ Stephen Bannon as his campaign CEO and Kellyanne Conway as his campaign manager.
Roger Stone, a former business associate of Manafort, denied he’d left Trump’s campaign because of the reshuffle, Bloomberg reported.
“He resigned because he thought the unfair and unfounded attacks on him would become a distraction and he doesn’t want to do anything that hurts the election of Trump,” Stone told Bloomberg. “The idea that there was any discord with Bannon or Kelly is just not true.”
“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Trump said in a statement. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping us get where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”
Manafort has been a controversial figure, drawing scrutiny for his ties to the pro-Russian former president of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. He’s also been at the center of scandal in the housing industry. In the late 1980s, Manafort was criticized for using his connections at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to arrange funding for a $43 million housing rehabilitation project in Seabrook, N.J. His firm pocketed a $326,000 fee for its work, according to a Los Angeles Times article. The HUD approval came largely because of the personal influence of Deborah Gore Dean, the executive assistant to former HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce, Jr., the Times reported.
Manafort’s resignation comes after a campaign reshuffling that many saw as a demotion. On Wednesday, Trump named Breitbart News’ Stephen Bannon as his campaign CEO and Kellyanne Conway as his campaign manager.
Roger Stone, a former business associate of Manafort, denied he’d left Trump’s campaign because of the reshuffle, Bloomberg reported.
“He resigned because he thought the unfair and unfounded attacks on him would become a distraction and he doesn’t want to do anything that hurts the election of Trump,” Stone told Bloomberg. “The idea that there was any discord with Bannon or Kelly is just not true.”
