Who is Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman?

Former President Donald Trump appears to be getting the band back together as advisors say he is determined to rehire Paul Manafort, according to the Washington Post.

The Post reported that Trump appreciates Manafort's loyalty to him, even while in prison. Trump is now likely to hire Manafort for a role at the Republican National Convention this summer in Milwaukee.

But it's been a couple of years since Manafort has been a public player, so let's get a little refresher.

Who is Paul Manafort?

A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, Manafort is a former lawyer, lobbyist and convicted felon.

As chairman of the Trump campaign in 2016, Manfort helped guide the former president to the White House. In 2017, during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, he was indicted on charges related to political consulting work in Ukraine, where it was alleged that he had received millions of dollars from a pro-Russian political faction. In 2019, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

More: Who is Paul Manafort? A look at former Trump campaign manager's controversial career

In 2020, a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee found Manafort’s role as Trump’s campaign chairman along with his ties to people affiliated with Russian intelligence services, “represented a grave counterintelligence threat” during the 2016 presidential race.

But less than two years after being sentenced to prison, Trump pardoned him, along with many of Trump’s other allies. In mid-March of 2024, he re-emerged on the political scene after several media outlets reported that Trump was in discussions to bring him back as a top campaign advisor.

Now, he seems set to help at the Republican National Convention even as there are reports of continued international consulting, which he has denied.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Who is Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign chairman?