Manafort offered to brief wealthy Russian during campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, said during the presidential race that he was willing to provide "private briefings" for a Russian billionaire the U.S. government considers close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

That's according to a July 2016 email exchange Manafort wrote to a former employee of his political consulting firm about offering to brief Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. The email was first reported by The Washington Post.

Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort, confirmed the exchange to The Associated Press, but he said no briefings ever materialized. The Post reports that there's no evidence that Deripaska received the offer.

Congressional committees have the email exchange. So does special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading an investigation into Russia's election interference.