Paul Manafort Resigns From Trump Campaign Over Undisclosed Russian Lobby Efforts

Paul Manafort

Well, we all saw this coming, didn't we?

Paul Manafort, who basically replaced Donald Trump's first campaign chief, Corey Lewandowski, has resigned from the Trump campaign after being replaced himself by Breitbart News head Stephen Bannon and Republican PR guru Kellyanne Conway.

Oh, plus that little matter of being implicated in multi-million dollar payments for lobbying on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukraine party without properly disclosing those payments.

All of these machinations come as Trump trails Democrat Hillary Clinton in virtually every national poll and in most vital swing states.

From the AP:

Eric Trump told Fox News Friday that Paul Manafort "did a great job with the delegates" ahead of the Republican National Convention last month, and that he resigned earlier Friday because Donald Trump didn't want to be "distracted by whatever things Paul was dealing with."

Manafort stepped down in the wake of a campaign shake-up, as well as revelations about his work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that Manafort's firm orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine's then-ruling political party. Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents, as required under federal law.

The Trumpster issued this statement:

“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign. I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”

BREAKING: Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigns in wake of campaign shakeup and revelations about Ukraine work.

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 19, 2016