More information about Donald Trump s Russian ties keeps coming out and now another shoe has dropped. According to the Associated Press, Paul Manafort, who served as Trump s campaign manager in 2016, spent about ten years working to  benefit  Vladimir Putin. His job? To make Putin not look like a murderous dictator.The AP reports:Manafort proposed in a confidential strategy plan as early as June 2005 that he would influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and the former Soviet republics to benefit the Putin government, even as U.S.-Russia relations under Republican President George W. Bush grew worse. Manafort pitched the plans to Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a close Putin ally with whom Manafort eventually signed a $10 million annual contract beginning in 2006, according to interviews with several people familiar with payments to Manafort and business records obtained by the AP. Manafort and Deripaska maintained a business relationship until at least 2009, according to one person familiar with the work.Trump, his administration, and Manafort himself have spent months downplaying his involvement with Russia, even after he left the campaign because of his Russian ties. But it turns out that Manafort was apparently far closer to Putin than he ever let on.In a memo to Deripaska in 2005, Manafort wrote that we are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success.  The effort, he explained, will be offering a great service that can re-focus, both internally and externally, the policies of the Putin government. Manafort responded with a statement that said his dealings with Deripaska are being unfairly painted as  inappropriate or nefarious  and insists this is all just part of a massive  smear campaign. I worked with Oleg Deripaska almost a decade ago representing him on business and personal matters in countries where he had investments,  Manafort said.  My work for Mr. Deripaska did not involve representing Russian political interests. This latest disclosure comes after FBI Director James Comey confirmed on Monday that the bureau is investigating not just Russia s interference in the U.S. election, but also the possibility that Trump colluded with them to sway the election.You can watch more on this story here, via MSNBC:Featured image via video screen capture