The man Trump just hired to win him a contested convention has had some curious clientele

In anticipation of a possible contested convention in July, Donald Trump's campaign has brought on Paul Manafort to head their attempts to round up delegates and manage things in Cleveland. Manafort is a lobbyist and political consultant with a 40-year career, although some parts of his past appear to be a little controversial, The Washington Post reports.

Take, for example, the fact that Manafort's firms have advised a business group tied to the dictator of the Philippines as well as Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted Ukrainian president and Putin ally, and the former Bahamian Prime Minister Lynden Pindling, who has been tied to drug traffickers.

Then there are Manafort's two lobbying and consulting firms, Black, Manafort, Stone, and Kelly and Davis Manafort. Black, Manafort, Stone, and Kelly was investigated by a congressional panel in 1989 for obtaining millions in federal grants to repair a low-income housing complex in New Jersey, with Manafort and his partners earning consulting fees from developers. Manafort had even said during the investigation that his work could be deemed "influence peddling." Manafort also lobbied on the behalf of the Trump Organization for gaming and tax issues in New York and Florida decades ago.

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But Manafort is good at what he does, insiders say. "He's one of the true first-rate professionals in the Republican Party. There's only a handful of people, I really mean that, that can honestly say they know how a national convention works. He's one of them," said lobbyist and former Republican congressman from Minnesota Vin Weber. Weber, who is critical of Trump, added, "This is one of the most impressive things I've seen the Trump organization do. Maybe the only impressive thing."

After all, Manafort has one very appealing line on his resume for the Trump campaign: winning the 1976 contested convention fight for Gerald Ford.