A Russian billionaire who is said to be close to Vladimir Putin is offering to testify to Congress about allegations made recently about his work with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
“I am ready to take part in any hearings conducted in the US Congress on this subject in order to defend my reputation and name,” aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska wrote in a paid ad published by The Wall Street Journal.
Deripaska is responding to an AP report published last week alleging that he signed a $10 million annual contract in 2005, the purpose of which was to “greatly benefit the Putin Government.” The AP obtained a copy of a strategy plan that Manafort pitched to Deripaska.
The oligarch said that the article was part of a “massive and misleading campaign” to demonize him.
“I want to resolutely deny this malicious assertion and lie. I have never made any commitments or contracts with the obligation or purpose to covertly promote or advance ‘Putin’s Government’ interests anywhere in the world,” wrote Deripaska.
He also implied that he will take legal action against news outlets that disseminate the allegations in the AP article. He wrote that doing so “will consequently bring the cost and burden of ultimate legal responsibility on all parties taking part in the disinformation campaign.”
“I demand that any and all further dissemination of these allegations, by the AP or any other media outlet, must cease immediately,” the ad reads.
Manafort may soon be discussing his relationship with Deripaska with Congress. Last week he informed the House Intelligence Committee that he is willing to be interviewed as part of its investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
The committee has not said whether Manafort’s offer has been accepted. Two other Trump advisers, Carter Page and Roger Stone, have also asked to testify to the committee.
