The Justice Department Intensifies Its Focus On Former Trump Campaign Manager, Paul Manafort

By Susan Wright | 9:30 AM on May 13, 2017

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FILE - In this July 17, 2016 file photo, Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort talks to reporters on the floor of the Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland as Rick Gates listens at back left. Emails obtained by The Associated Press shed new light on the activities of a firm run by Donald Trump’s campaign chairman. They show it directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s ruling political party, attempting to sway American public opinion in favor of the country’s pro-Russian government. Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents as required under federal law. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Paul Manafort is probably feeling pretty boxed in, right about now.

The Justice Department is stepping up its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, as well as those Trump associates who may have been compromised by entanglements with Russian players.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Justice Department requested Manafort’s bank records from Citizen Financial Group Inc. in April. It’s unclear whether that was the only bank that was asked to turn over records, according to the report.

That’s actually the latest shoe to fall for Manafort. In March, the Treasury Department went after financial records from Cyprus, as part of a federal anti-corruption probe, targeting the former Trump campaign manager’s past work in eastern Europe.

It was later discovered that they were investigating possible money laundering. Whatever they may have uncovered will probably be added to the wider investigation.

It wasn’t as if Manafort’s name wasn’t tainted before Trump brought him on as campaign manager. There were questions about the guy from the beginning, due to his relationship with numerous pro-Russia figures. The probe into his dealings started rolling as soon as he left Trump’s campaign.

On the same day he stepped down, he formed a shell corporation and took out loans worth $13 million from Trump-connected businesses, according to The New York Times.

Manafort is one of several Trump associates who is scheduled to sit for questioning during the Russia hearings.