There seems to be some confusion about Paul Manafort. Now, it seems evident that he was working for the Russians and that has led some to believe he was somehow imposed on Trump from some outside group... but people should remember a few things about who he was.
Manafort was a Roger Stone guy, which makes him a Trump guy. Manafort, more than any other adviser that Donald Trump had was from his own pre-presidency nexus of crooks. Manafort was more "Trump” than Bannon, Sessions, Flynn, or any of the rest of them. He wasn't imposed on Trump by the establishment. He was Trump and Stone’s guy BECAUSE of the Russian connections, and because of course he was Roger Stone’s business partner. If anything, he was close with the Russians for the same reason Trump was already close to the Russians, which of course is why he was part of the Stone/Trump/(Russia) scheme to win the presidency.
In 1980 Manafort co-founded the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone, along with principals Charles R. Black Jr., and Roger J. Stone.[2][3][4] In 1984 it was renamed Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly
Paul Manafort is from the Roger Stone node of the Republican nutwork, which is a key thing to have front and center right now.
(And of course, the fact that Vice President Pence was drafted by what seems to be a Russian spy would for a Democrat result in immediate impeachment, Let's be honest. But I digress)
Manafort was Trump’s guy, far more than Bannon ever was. Trump credited Manafort for being key to getting him where he was in August of 2016.
“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today.”
And Manafort didn't go willingly. That's not what Vlad wanted. But ultimately, Donald Trump knew Manafort’s Russia connections going public would at some point be VERY dangerous given what Kushner, Manafort, and Jr were up to in their secret meeting(s) with Russian spies in June.
“My father just didn’t want to have the distraction looming over the campaign,” Eric Trump, the candidate’s second son, explained in a Fox News interview.
Well, now he's got it looming over his so-called presidency. Paul Manafort was smart enough to know the racist nationalist whackjobbery of the Sessions/Bannon wing would only get them so far. He was the guy Roger Stone put in charge of the operation to manage the bloated man baby. If there was any chill between Manafort and Trump, it was only because the "Russian spy" at times pushed for moderation. I mean, Russian spies have to run a believable operation somehow, right? But I certainly believe there's eventually going to be a healthy amount of evidence to show Trump knew Manafort was also Vlad’s inside man, and therefore not easily ignored or dispensed with.
So don't anyone ever think Paul Manafort was “inserted” into the Trump circle by the Russians or by some other entity. Paul Manafort was from Trump’s Roger Stone world. He was Trump’s connection to the big boy table in politics. He legitimized and made Trump possible. And most importantly, when Trump eventually lost the election, which I suspect he assumed would happen, he knew he had done great work for Vlad in legitimizing pro-Russian talking points during the campaign, and would be rewarded financially by Russia via real estate deals.
All along, it's seems fairly clear that Manafort might as well have been Vlad Putin in a somewhat human looking halloween mask.
In any sane world, if Manafort were to go down, Trump would go down with him. But there's no excuse for Americans thinking Manafort randomly parachuted into Trump’s circle from Russia or from the establishment. The connection was Trump, Stone, Manafort, Russia.
Donald Trump was their presidential frankenstein project.
And I suspect Mueller can't ignore it.