Republican political consultant linked to Paul Manafort and Cambridge Analytica funneled $50,000 from a Ukrainian oligarch to Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration committee, authorities said on Friday.
The Guardian reports Sam Patten paid the money to an American “straw purchaser” on behalf of the unnamed oligarch in return for four tickets to Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, prosecutors said in a court filing. Patten was reimbursed by the oligarch. The inauguration committee was not allowed to accept money from foreigners.
The disclosure came as Patten, 47, admitted to illegally lobbying in the US for pro-Russia politicians from Ukraine .
Patten pleaded guilty on Friday to working as an unregistered agent for the Ukrainian political party Opposition Bloc, which also employed Manafort, the former chairman of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Patten, 47, was charged with one count of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) for work he carried out from 2014 to this year. He was released on bail by Judge Amy Berman Jackson following a hearing.
Donald Trump said the United States has a “very serious chance” of reaching an agreement with Iran, indicating that ongoing negotiations could lead to the reopening of the strategically ...
Malta is set to feature prominently in this week’s European Parliament proceedings, with two petitions under scrutiny during meetings of the Committee on Petitions.
Today, MEPs will h...
Updated 1210
Tech Prices Set to Surge as Iran Conflict and AI Boom Disrupt Supply Chains: Electronics retailers in Malta are bracing for price hikes as the Iran conflict drives up shi...
Morning Briefing
Abela urges EU action on energy as geopolitical tensions rise
Prime Minister Robert Abela has called on the European Union to act swiftly to address inflationary p...
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament today that in just ten days of conflict in the Middle East, fossil fuel imports have cost the EU an additi...
The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament has demanded urgent clarification from the European Commission over its participation in the first meeting of the ...
State-controlled postal and financial services giant Poste Italiane announced on Sunday a €10.8 billion cash and share bid to take over Italian telecommunications group TIM.
Already t...
Some coffee industry experts have been drawing comparisons between the coffee and cocoa markets, projecting that coffee prices will sink in coming months, just as cocoa prices crashed a...
Vivian continues to widen its portfolio with the announcement of new representation agreements with worldwide R&D pharmaceutical companies. “These latest agreements crown a very succ...
Two local analysts have cautioned that any attempt by EU Member States to block or restrict the passporting of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) authorised under the Markets in...
Malta Public Transport will be operating a series of extra trips and direct bus services towa-rds and back from Ta’ Qali on Thursday 26th March 2026 for the highly anticipated Nations Le...
Malta’s financial services sector is projected to contribute between €4.8 billion and €5.3 billion to the country’s GDP by 2035. However, the sector is also facing the critical challenge...
Oil markets moved sharply higher on Monday as the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned the unfolding Middle East crisis is “very severe,” with disruption risks exceeding those seen d...
U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran threatened to escalate their war, targeting energy and fuel facilities in the Gulf, which could again roil global energy and financial markets and d...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
Ukraine has deployed military units to protect critical and civilian infrastructure against drones in five Middle Eastern countries, Ukraine's security council secretary Rustem Umerov ...
Russia is expending air defense missiles faster than it can produce them, forcing the Kremlin to prioritize which strategic targets to defend, according to Gert Kaju, head of the Defense...
