American Monster — Paul Manafort

The first in a series about convicted US criminals who accelerated the world toward authoritarianism

Paul Manafort was born privileged.

Unlike many felons I interviewed over the years, whose mothers dropped them on their heads and they had to learn some survival skills, that’s not Paul Manafort’s story.

When I worked as an investigative reporter in broadcast news, I was always fascinated when an enterprising criminal would grant me an interview. I knew t…