Manafort lobbyists met with Idaho's Jim Risch, leading to claim of illegal donations

U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, was reportedly among numerous American politicians pursued by a Ukrainian lobbying effort now being scrutinized by special counsel Robert Mueller.

The push "engaged ... every member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," Paul Manafort wrote in a 2013 memo to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Risch has served on the committee since 2009. Mueller's team included the memo in court documents filed Tuesday in the case against Manafort.

That long-running investigation helped inspire a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission last August. A Massachusetts attorney believes Risch received illegal foreign campaign contributions via a scheme concocted by Manafort and a former business partner, Rick Gates, in which a foreign national group backed by Yanukovych's political party used “straw men” to donate to U.S. candidates running for federal office.

Risch did meet with and received $3,000 in campaign donations from lobbyists Manafort hired, according to various lobbying disclosures. But the FEC has not ruled on the complaint's broader claims, and it remains an allegation for now.


https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article213135899.html#storylink=cpy