Read Paul Manafort's 'bada bing bada boom' plan to paint an Obama official as anti-Semitic


Paul Manafort allegedly had a sneaky plan to tie an Obama administration official to an anti-Semitic Ukranian political party, and getting it done was as easy as "bada bing bada boom."
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors filed a new criminal information document in Manafort's case Friday, a move that typically signals that a defendant has reached a plea deal. In it, there are some colorful details about the ex-Trump campaign chair's history of fighting the Democratic Party.
Before Manafort joined the Trump campaign, he spent time lobbying American officials on behalf of Ukranian oligarch Viktor Yanukovich. In 2012, per the new document, he apparently decided to label an unnamed official in former President Barack Obama's administration as anti-Semitic for supporting Yanukovich's political rival Yulia Tymoshenko. Manafort learned about Tymoshenko's ties to an anti-Semitic group, worked with Israel's government to publicize the story, and then said he had "'someone pushing it on the [New York Post],'" Friday's filings allege. "Bada bing bada boom," Manafort allegedly said. Per the filing, he "sought to have the [Obama administration] understand that 'the Jewish community will take this out on Obama on election day if he does nothing.'"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Manafort was convicted on eight counts of financial fraud last month, and was set to face a second trial for money laundering, obstruction of justice, and foreign lobbying violations. Those proceedings were disrupted with the new document's filing Friday. The additional filing also accuses Manafort of "cheating the United States out of over $15 million in taxes" and will let the government seize four of Manafort's properties, per The Washington Post. He is expected to plead guilty to the superseding indictment Friday.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Can US tourism survive Trump's policies?
Today's Big Question The tourist economy is 'heading in the wrong direction'
-
September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosis
the week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
-
'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer