Former Trump administration official Kellyanne Conway registers as lobbyist for Ukrainian billionaire with past ties to Trump
Former Trump administration official Kellyanne Conway has registered as a foreign agent representing Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk‘s foundation, new foreign lobbying disclosure reports show.
In 2015, the Ukrainian steel magnate donated $150,000 to former President Donald Trump’s charitable organization to book the then-presidential candidate to speak at a conference in Kyiv.
The donation was later reportedly investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller‘s team in connection with their probe into Trump’s and his campaign’s alleged role in Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to The New York Times. Mueller’s final report did not specifically address this donation.
PHOTO: Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk attends the ‘Ukraine. Year 2024’ forum on Feb. 25, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Serhiy Morgunov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images, FILE)
Conway is representing the U.K. office of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, which the disclosure filings describe as a “registered, private, nonpartisan, philanthropic company limited by guarantee in the United Kingdom primarily focused on advancing artistic, scientific, charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic purposes in Ukraine or related to Ukraine.”
According to the disclosure, Conway has been hired to influence American “political leaders,” “lawmakers, experts and opinion makers” on a variety of issues related to Ukraine, including “making best efforts to convince” them to “attend the annual Yalta European Strategy meeting in Kiev on September 13 – 14,” the disclosure filing states.
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Yalta European Strategy’s annual gathering, also known as YES, is the same conference that Trump virtually attended in 2015 allegedly in exchange for Pinchuk’s donation.
Conway’s role as an agent for Pinchuk’s foundation also includes engaging U.S. political leaders and experts to “explain the importance of Ukraine to the rules-based order and the protection of democratic principles,” and contributing to “raising awareness among US decision makers of Ukrainians’ fight for freedom and the Russian illegal war of aggression,” according to the disclosure filing.
She is also tasked with assisting with organizing meetings between U.S. political leaders and Ukrainian soldiers and veterans, and to keep Pinchuk informed of the process and achievements, per the disclosure filing.
Conway is set to be paid $50,000 a month for her services throughout the contract, which runs from July 25 through Nov. 14, 2024, with an option to extend it, according to their service agreement.
ABC News has reached out to Conway.
PHOTO: Former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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The $150,000 donation to Trump’s foundation was one of many foreign payments Trump and his associates had received in the years leading up to the 2016 election that had been scrutinized by the special counsel’s team, according to the New York Times.
In 2018, the Trump Organization turned over documents related to the $150,000 donation from Pinchuk, after investigators subpoenaed the Trump family business for an array of records about business with foreign nationals.
In 2019, Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee that the $150,000 donation was in lieu of Trump’s speaking engagement at the conference.
Trump ended up making a 20-minute virtual appearance at the YES gathering in Kyiv in September 2015, where the then-presidential candidate praised Pinchuk, saying, “Victor is a very, very special man. A special entrepreneur.”
During his virtual remarks at the 2015 YES gathering, Trump also attacked then-President Barack Obama for not doing enough to support Ukraine, saying, “Part of the problem we have with the Ukraine is that [Vladimir] Putin does not respect our president whatsoever. Putin does not respect our president.”
Pinchuk’s contribution to Trump’s charity group was disclosed in 2016 as a part of the charity group’s annual tax record. The Victor Pinchuk Foundation offices told ABC News at the time that the contribution was made to bolster its efforts to persuade Western governments to help protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the face of Russian incursions.
“The sole reason the Victor Pinchuk Foundation has reached out to President-elect Trump — as well as other world leaders — has been to promote strengthened and enduring ties between Ukraine and the West,” a spokeswoman for the Pinchuk foundation said in an emailed response to questions in November 2016.
“Mr Pinchuk had met Mr Trump some years ago in New York, this is how the invitation for Mr Trump to speak at the YES meeting came about,” the spokeswoman said at the time.
Pinchuk has also been a prolific donor to the Clinton Foundation, giving tens of millions of dollars to the group over the years, as well as reportedly lending his private plane to the Clintons.
Former Trump administration official Kellyanne Conway registers as lobbyist for Ukrainian billionaire with past ties to Trump originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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