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| | In 2014, the U.S. United With Ukraine Coalition was founded by Alexandra Chalupa. | | In 2014, the U.S. United With Ukraine Coalition was founded by Alexandra Chalupa. |
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| | + | ==Ukrainian collusion== |
| | + | "{{See also|Biden-Ukraine collusion scandal}} |
| | + | According to the ''Kyiv Post'', {{quotebox|“Chalupa said she first came across Manafort after she organized a meeting with then-U.S. President Barack Obama’s [[National Security Council]] and leaders of Ukrainian-American organizations in January 2014, to brief the [[White House]] about the [[Euromaidan Revolution]] that drove President Viktor Yanukovych from power on Feb. 22, 2014.”}} |
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| | + | In late 2015, [[Alexandra Chalupa]] expanded her research into Manafort to include the Trump campaign and possible ties to Russia. |
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| | + | In January 2016, Chalupa informed an unknown senior [[DNC]] official that she believed there was a Russian connection with the Trump campaign. Notably, this theme would be picked up by the [[2016 Clinton campaign|Clinton campaign]] in the summer of 2016. Chalupa also told the official to expect Manafort’s involvement in the Trump campaign. |
| | + | [[File:Chalupa and Pasternak.jpg|right|250px|thumb|[[Alexandra Chalupa]] and Igor Pasternak at Trump inauguration. Chalupa was paid by the DNC to find dirt on Paul Manafort from the Ukrainian government leading to resignation from the campaign; Pasternak is a Ukrainian arms merchant who manufacturers equipment in Rep. [[Adam Schiff]]'s district for sale to the Ukrainian military, and is a big donor to Rep. Adam Schiff.<br>Photo captured by [[AI]] facial recognition.]] |
| | + | Chalupa’s forecast proved prescient, as Manafort reached out to the Trump campaign shortly after, on Feb. 29, 2016, through a mutual acquaintance, Thomas J. Barrack Jr. According to Manafort, he and Trump hadn’t been in communication for years until the Trump campaign responded to Manafort’s offer. On March 28, 2016, Manafort was hired by the Trump campaign. He was reportedly initially hired to lead the Trump campaign’s delegate effort, but was soon promoted, and on May 19, 2016, Manafort became Trump’s campaign chairman and chief strategist. |
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| | + | Just days prior to Manafort’s hiring, on March 24, 2016, Chalupa spoke with the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Valeriy Chaly, and told him of concerns she had regarding Manafort. Reportedly, her concerns were initially rebuffed as Chaly didn’t think Trump had a real chance of winning the presidency. |
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| | + | According to ''Politico'', the day after Manafort’s hiring, Chalupa provided a briefing on “Manafort, Trump and their ties to Russia” to the DNC's communications staff. Notably, “with the DNC’s encouragement,” Chalupa asked the Ukrainian Embassy staff to attempt to arrange an interview with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and have him discuss Manafort's ties to former Ukrainian President Yanukovych. The Ukrainian Embassy reportedly declined the request but, according to Chalupa, did begin working with reporters who were researching Trump. |
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| | + | Andrii Telizhenko, who worked in the Ukrainian Embassy under one of Chaly's top aides, Oksana Shulyar, has repeatedly stated that Chalupa was working closely with the Ukrainian Embassy to obtain information on Trump. In an interview with the Gateway Pundit, Telizhenko said he met Chalupa in the spring of 2016 at the Ukrainian Embassy, where Chalupa told him she was “a DNC operative working for the DNC” and the “Clinton campaign.” Telizhenko continued, noting that Chalupa said she was “collecting any dirt or background information on Manafort, presidential candidate Trump or any other campaign official from the Trump campaign” and was looking for “connections to Russia or the FSB or Russian mob, or Ukrainian mob, etc.” According to Telizhenko, Chalupa said the information would “be used for committee hearings in Congress under a congresswoman.”<ref>Rep. [[Marcy Kaptur]].</ref> Telizhenko didn't disclose the identity of the congresswoman, noting, “I don’t want to mention her name on record.” |
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| | + | In January 2017, Telizhenko told ''Politico'' that Chalupa said, “If we can get enough information on Paul [Manafort] or Trump’s involvement with Russia, she can get a hearing in Congress by September.” |
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| | + | In a recent tweet, Telizhenko summed the situation succinctly, noting {{quotebox|“The Clinton campaign had a Democratic operative working with Ukraine’s embassy in Washington to research Trump’s Russia ties, as well as a Ukrainian lawmaker feeding information to Fusion GPS.”}} |
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| | + | The “Democratic operative” refers to Chalupa, while the “Ukrainian lawmaker” refers to Leshchenko. |
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| | ==See also== | | ==See also== |