Donald Trump shakes up campaign staff

Trump made senior advisor Kellyanne Conway his campaign manager, and Breitbart News executive chairman Stephen Bannon has been brought on as the campaign’s chief executive, the New York Times reported citing Conway. Paul Manafort would remain as campaign chair, it said. 

The Washington Post cited campaign aides as saying that while Trump respected Manafort, he felt ‘boxed in’ and ‘controlled’ by people ‘who barely knew him.’ Manafort was forced to deny any impropriety this week after the New York Times reported his name was on secret ledgers showing cash payments designated to him of more than 12 million dollars from a Ukrainian political party with close ties to Russia. 

Manafort has denied impropriety. Manafort took on the role in March after Trump fired his predecessor Corey Lewandowski. The shake-up comes as opinion polls show Trump, a wealthy New York businessman who has never held elected office, falling behind Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the race for the November 8 election. Trump said if elected he would force top officials to sign a pledge not to accept speaking fees from corporations with registered lobbyists or foreign countries for five years after leaving office. 

The pledge – a rare policy pronouncement from the real estate mogul – was part of his criticism of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton who, along with her husband, former president Bill Clinton, have accepted millions of dollars in speaking fees since he left office. Meanwhile A US House of Representatives committee said the FBI had turned over “a number of documents” related to its investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. “Committee staff is reviewing the information that is classified SECRET. There are no further details at this time,” a spokeswoman for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in an email.