One of the sources of the authors of the dossier against Trump was the Ukrainian deputy

The deputy of the Ukrainian parliament, accused in his home country of interfering in the US presidential election in 2016, was mentioned in congressional testimony in October as the source for research firm Fusion GPS.

Photo: Facebook / Sergiy Leshchenko

Nelly Or, a former employee of Fusion GPS in Washington, told 19 on October, that Sergey Leschenko, a former investigative journalist who became a Ukrainian parliamentarian, was the source of Fusion GPS during the presidential election campaign of the year 2016. The daily caller.

“I remember... they mentioned someone named Sergei Leshchenko, a Ukrainian,” Ohr said when asked about the sources of Fusion GPS.

Or, whose husband Bruce Or is an employee of the Department of Justice, said that she did not know about the source from which Leshchenko had received information, but she knew that he had provided information to Fusion GPS, where she had worked since the end of 2015 and during the presidential election campaign. 2016 campaign of the year.

“His source of information is unknown to me,” Nellie Ohr said.

“Did you just know he was the company's source?” one lawmaker asked.

“Yes,” Or answered.

“Was he the source of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson? Or was he the source of Fusion GPS employee Jake Berkowitz or both?

"I don't know about the difference between the two, he was just the source of Fusion GPS," said Nellie Ohr, a specialist in Russian linguistics who formerly worked in the CIA's research department.

The woman did not give a more detailed description of the relationship between Leshchenko and Fusion GPS, so it is not clear whether the Ukrainian legislator received payment for his services, how he transmitted information to the company or with whom he kept in touch with the company.

Nellie Or explained whether she was processing information from Leshchenko and transferred her to her husband, who worked as an assistant to the Deputy Prosecutor General and Director of the Organized Crime Task Force at the Department of Justice.

Fusion GPS did not respond to a list of detailed questions about Leshchenko sent to the company by journalists.

Nellie Ohr's testimony marks the first time a foreign government official has been identified as a source for Fusion GPS, which is known for its work on the dossier against Donald Trump, which alleged that Trump and his campaign conspired with Russian authorities to influence the outcome of the 2016 elections.

Having received 1 a million dollars from the National Democratic Party Committee and Hillary Clinton's headquarters, Fusion GPS hired former British spy Christopher Steele to investigate Trump's ties to Russia. While this investigation lasted, Fusion GPS was digging into Trump's dirty underwear, the members of his headquarters and his family.

Or also told Congress that Fusion GPS commissioned her study of the travel and business activities of Trump's children. Op and some of the company's employees also focused on finding information about Paul Manaforte, who served as head of Trump's campaign headquarters from April to August 2016.

In addition to gathering information and intelligence about people involved in the Trump campaign, Fusion GPS also distributed its investigation findings in the press.

In addition, Nelli Or stated that Leshchenko also provided Fusion GPS with information about Manaforte.

Leshchenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Preventing and Combating Corruption, is widely known for publishing the so-called “black ledger”, which was intended to show that Manafort received $ 2012 million of illegal cash payments from former President Viktor Viktor in 12,7. Yanukovych. Manafort worked as a public relations consultant for Yanukovich and his political party from 2004 to 2014.

Leshchenko was widely represented in the media during and after the US presidential campaign 2016. He actively accused Manafort and sought to portray Trump as a “pro-Russian candidate.”

In connection with his actions, it was established that Leshchenko had illegally interfered in the US 2016 election of the year. 11 December 2018, a court in Kiev ruled that the disclosure of Leshchenko of information about Manaforte "led to interference in the US electoral processes in 2016, and caused damage to the interests of Ukraine as a state."

In response, Leshchenko accused the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, that he was stifling the investigation of the Manafort case in order to enlist the support of the Trump administration.

The very “black bookkeeping” of Yanukovich, which Leshchenko published, was subjected to a thorough analysis, and its authenticity has not yet been confirmed.

The head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, Nazar Kholodnitsky, told 27 on June 2017 of the year that the investigators did not have evidence that Manafort had received illegal payments from Yanukovych, as indicated in a document published by Leshchenko.

Although the credibility of “black bookkeeping” remains controversial, the disclosure of this document Leshchenko played an important role in Manafort’s departure from the Trump campaign and probably aroused the interest of American prosecutors as a possible interference with the elections. Foreign Policy magazine called Leshchenko "the Ukrainian who drowned Paul Manafort."

Leshchenko's aggressive tactics also subjected his actions to additional verification.

According to Politico sources, Leshchenko tried to blackmail Manafort by contacting his daughter and informing her that he was aware of Manafort’s deals with Ukraine, the 23 February issue of 2017 says.

“Given all the facts and evidence that are at my disposal, before making a decision whether to transfer this to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine or the FBI, I would like to know your opinion on this matter and perhaps you will find a way to convince me to act differently,” said a message sent to Manafort from an email address associated with Leshchenko.

Leshchenko categorically denied having contacted the Manafort family or threatened with extortion.

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