Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Resigns, Nominee Says

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump said Friday he had accepted campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s resignation, capping a week of dramatic changes for the Republican presidential nominee.

“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Trump said in a statement e-mailed by his campaign. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”

Trump on Wednesday named Breitbart News’ Stephen Bannon his campaign CEO and adviser Kellyanne Conway his campaign manager, effectively demoting Manafort after a stretch that saw Trump slumping in polls against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Manafort had also come under increasing media scrutiny because of his past consulting for the pro-Russian former president of Ukraine. 

The New York Times reported Sunday that Ukrainian government investigators found records listing $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments marked for Manafort from Viktor Yanukovych’s party from 2007-2012. Manafort denied taking any off-the-books cash or working for the Ukranian or Russian governments.

Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates, has also left the campaign, said a campaign official who spoke on he condition of anonymity because the campaign hadn’t released a statement on Gates. 

To contact the authors of this story: Elizabeth Titus in New York at etitus2@bloomberg.net, Kevin Cirilli in Washington at kcirilli@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John M Geddes at jgeddes5@bloomberg.net.