Konstantin Kilimnik

Konstantin Kilimnik is Russian-Ukrainian political consultant and suspected Russian intelligence operative. As an associate of Paul Manafort his activities have become a point of focus in the 2017 Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Kilimnik is believed by CNN and The New York Times to be "Person A" listed in court documents filed against Manafort and alleging Person A to either have ties to Russian intelligence agencies or to be a Russian intelligence operative. He is also believed to be Person A in court documents filed in the criminal indictment of Alex van der Zwaan. In 2017 Kilimnik denied any such intelligence ties.

Employment by Manafort

Kilimnik met Paul Manafort in 2005 and became an employee of Manafort's consulting firm. He lived and worked in Moscow and Kiev. Some reports say Kilimnik ran the Kiev office of Manafort's firm and was Manafort's right hand man in Kiev. They started working for Viktor Yanukovych after the 2004 Orange Revolution cost him the Presidency. With help from Manafort and Kilimnik, the Russian backed Yanukovych became President in 2010. Kilimnik then spent 90% of his time inside the Presidential administration. When Yanukovych fled the country, Manafort and Kilimnik went to work for the pro-Russia Ukrainian party Opposition Bloc which is backed by the same oligarchs who backed Yanukovych. At some point Opposition Bloc stopped paying Manafort's firm but even though the non-payment forced Manafort's firm to shut down their Kiev office, Kilimnik continued to advise the party while working to collect unpaid fees for Manafort's firm.

In 2017 Kilimnik helped Manafort write an op-ed for a Kiev newspaper. A journalist in Ukraine, Oleg Voloshyn, however, has disputed this, stating that he and Manafort wrote the op-ed and that he e-mailed the rough draft to Kilimnik. The op-ed may have violated a gag order issued against Manafort by a US court and may have been a breach of Manafort's bail conditions.

Mentions in court filings

Kilimnik has been reported by the New York Times to be the "Person A" in Court filings in December 2017 against Manafort and Gates.

Court filings in late March 2018 allege that Rick Gates said he knew that Kilimnik was a former officer with the Russian military intelligence service. These came after Gates reached a plea deal in exchange for cooperation in the investigation.

The sentencing memo for Alex van der Zwaan states that Rick Gates told van der Zwaan that Person A, believed to be Kilimnik, was a former intelligence officer with the Russian GRU.

Connection to Trump campaign

Kilimnik was still working for Russian intelligence when, during September and October 2016, he was known to be communicating with the Trump campaign. Gates admitted contact and so did Manafort. Manafort has said he and Kilimnik discussed the Democratic National Committee cyber attack and release of emails, now known to be undertaken by Russian hacker groups known as Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear.