A CNN exclusive report says former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was under government surveillance before and after the 2016 election. Three sources tell CNN that investigators monitored communications between Manafort and Russian operatives -- and between Russians themselves -- that concerned them and raised the question of whether Manafort encouraged Russians to aid the Trump campaign.
A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court order granted the FBI permission to conduct surveillance of Manafort in relation to the Russia investigation beginning sometime after June 2016. Investigators also searched a storage facility belonging to Manafort earlier this year as part of the FISA warrant. This is in addition to the pre-dawn raid on Manafort’s Alexandria, VA home in late July.
CNN has not yet confirmed whether the FBI’s surveillance picked up conversations between Manafort and the President.