Panampodcast

The most serious charge thus far to emerge from Robert Mueller's investigation has been tax evasion and wire fraud charges filed against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who is alleged to have set up an offshore bank account in Cyprus through which he wired $18 million to the US to fund a lavish lifestyle. The funds in question emanate from a rather sordid source: former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who is accused of widespread corruption during his tenure, and was ultimately forced out of office and fled to Russia in the wake of the Maidan Revolution in 2014. Ultimately, Mueller's charges stem from before Manafort joined the Trump campaign, but Trump's judgment has been called into question for hiring Manafort in the first place. Here the head of Ukrainian Students for Liberty Mariia Chaplia discusses the turbulent presidency of Yanukovych, the events that drove him from power, and how this ties into the rise and fall of Manafort.