By Kerry Eleveld
Thursday Dec 01, 2016 · 11:48 AM EST
Remember how Donald Trump had that big campaign shakeup that ousted campaign manager Paul Manafort just after Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway were hired to let Trump be Trump? Manafort appears to have continued pulling strings all along and still is, in part with the help of Mike Pence, writes Esme Cribb.
A source close to Manafort told Bloomberg in a report published Monday that the former campaign chair is in regular contact with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, as well as with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who Trump nominated to serve as his attorney general.
According to a report published Thursday by the Daily Beast, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the transition, Manafort is "weighing in on everything" as Trump staffs his incoming administration and picks cabinet members.
“I think he still talks to Trump every day. I mean, Pence? That was all Manafort. Pence is on the phone with Manafort regularly,” one former campaign official said, as quoted by the Daily Beast.
Why so interested? Because lotsa money is at stake. Manafort needs a hand in who Trump picks to control everything so he can call in favors later and know who to squeeze.
He’s just the type of character you want hanging around your transition. Nothing says "Drain the Swamp!" like daily briefings with a guy who's being investigated by the FBI.
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