Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

Documents leaked to the media are alleged to have revealed that Donald Trump’s former unpaid campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who was asked to resign when claims connected him with a pro-Russian lobby, once did secret work for a Russian billionaire which may have helped advance Vladimir Putin’s interests. .

The Associated Press reported that in 2005, Mr Manfort proposed a confidential strategy which would influence politics, business and news coverage in the US and across Europe amid worsening relations between former President George W Bush’s government and Russia.

“We are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success,” Mr Manafort reportedly wrote in a memo to Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of the Russian president and aluminium magnate. He added that the effort “will be offering a great service that can re-focus, both internally and externally, the policies of the Putin government.”

Mr Manafort signed a $10m annual contract with Mr Deripaska’s firm beginning in 2006, and the pair reportedly maintained a business relationship until at least 2009. American diplomatic cables from 2006 that were later released by WikiLeaks described Mr Deripaska’s “favourable relationship” with Mr Putin and said he was “more or less a permanent fixture on Putin's trips abroad and…among the 2-3 oligarchs Putin turns to on a regular basis”.

Mr Manafort worked as President Trump’s unpaid campaign chairman from March until August last year but was asked to resign after it was claimed that he had orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation until 2014 on behalf of Ukraine's ruling pro-Russian political party.

American intelligence services are presently investigating links between President Trump’s associates and Russia, as well as endeavoring to recover Ukrainian assets stolen after the removal of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. An FBI probe is running alongside two congressional investigations over whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow to interfere in the 2016 campaign.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Mr Manafort “played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time” in the campaign.

Mr Manafort confirmed he worked for Mr Deripaska but told Associated Press that he was the victim of a “smear campaign” and denied any connection to Russian politics.

“I worked with Oleg Deripaska almost a decade ago representing him on business and personal matters in countries where he had investments,” Mr Manafort said. “My work for Mr Deripaska did not involve representing Russian political interests."