Rick Gates, the longtime deputy to President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, was forced to leave his position with a nonprofit supporting Trump this week due to his longstanding relationship with Manafort, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Gates’ exit from America First Policies came after the Associated Press reported this week that Manafort had sought to further Russian government interests in his work for a Russian businessman. Gates did not return CNN’s requests for comment.
One administration source familiar with the matter called the departure “amicable.” A second source told CNN that Gates was asked to leave after his name popped back into the news this week due to his connections to Manafort.
Gates previously served as Manafort’s deputy when he was campaign chairman, and has long worked with him in the private sector, including in consulting work for foreign interests.
America First Policies confirmed the news Thursday on Twitter, tweeting: “Rick Gates is grateful @POTUS is standing up to #fakenews and supports agenda. @americanfirstpol is setup and strong- he’s on to more ventures!”