United States President Donald Trump on Friday defended himself for choosing Paul Manafort as part of his campaigning team in 2016 who was later pulled up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on collusion charges.
Trump said he should have been informed about Manafort's conduct prior to him being appointed and justified himself saying that he came in at later stages of campaigning.
He took to his Twitter account to say, "As only one of two people left who could become President, why wouldn't the FBI or Department of "Justice" have told me that they were secretly investigating Paul Manafort (on charges that were 10 years old and had been previously dropped) during my campaign? Should have told me!"
He further said that Manafort has represented him for a brief period of time and had also worked for previous US presidents including Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole.
"Paul Manafort came into the campaign very late and was with us for a short period of time (he represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole & many others over the years), but we should have been told that Comey and the boys were doing a number on him, and he wouldn't have been hired!," Trump tweeted.
Manafort was hired by the campaign in March 2016 and then named to run the campaign in June.
As per the New York Post, he stepped down in August after allegations arose that he had accepted a huge amount of money from officials in Ukraine and lobbied for the country in the United States even though he hadn't disclosed his work as an alleged foreign agent.
Special counsel Robert Mueller indicted Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates on a slew of charges, including tax fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
Manafort has pleaded not guilty and he is expected to stand trial next month.
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