Journalists who received $2.4 million from Manafort turned on him after he told them to lie to special counsel Mueller: report

According to a report by the New York Times, two journalists who received more  than $2 million from overseas accounts from ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort turned on the Trump confidante after he asked them to lie to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The report states the journalists were previously hired "to bolster the reputation" of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine.

Although the investigators did not reveal the name of the veteran journalists, sources identified them as Alan Friedman and Eckart Sager.

The report states, "In court filings this week, they said that starting in late February, Mr. Manafort repeatedly tried to reach the two journalists — with whom he had fallen out of contact until recently — to coordinate their accounts about their work to tamp down international criticism of Mr. Yanukovych for corruption, persecuting rivals and pivoting toward Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin."

The Times reports that the men "fended off the overtures, which included phone calls and encrypted text messages from Mr. Manafort," adding Friedman accused him of trying to “suborn perjury” and get him to lie to investigators, according to F.B.I. agent on the case.

You can read the whole report here.