Manafort was originally investigated for his alleged shady dealings with former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych who was at the head of a pro Russian party which was driven out in 2014 by civil unrest and street protests Manafort s firm was accused of lobbying for Yanukovych s interests while failing to register with the U S government as a lobbyist for a foreign power In fact that accusation is why Manafort left the Trump campaign back in August of 2016 after reports of the connections surfaced 