A big-shot lobbyist and DEMOCRAT donor has gotten caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation because of his firm's ties to the lobbying organization led by President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Tony Podesta, who stepped down from his position as the head of the lobbying firm the Podesta Group, reportedly worked with Manafort's lobbying firm that had sought to ease the Obama administration's tough stance toward Ukraine's Russian-backed government.
He is now being investigated by Mueller for failing to properly disclose these efforts to regulators.
The Mueller investigation had initially only delved into the Podesta Group's activities to gather facts on Manafort, but then began to investigate the Podesta Group itself after it became apparent that it had failed to disclose that it was lobbying in the US on behalf of a foreign actor, a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates were also charged with failing to disclose their activities to FARA regulators, in addition to several other federal offenses.
http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-podesta-russian-backed-lobbying-ukraine-manafort-mueller-russia-2017-10