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Article snippet: MORE's criminal conviction, saying it did not involve his presidential bid. “This has nothing to do with Russian collusion," Trump told reporters in West Virginia, where is he scheduled to hold a campaign rally. "It's a witch hunt and a disgrace." The president said he feels "very badly" about Manafort's conviction and called him a "good person." But he also stressed that the crimes Manafort was found guilty of committing were not related to his work on the Trump campaign. "Doesn’t involve me but I still feel, you know, it’s a very sad thing that happened," Trump said."This has nothing to do what they started out looking for Russians involved in our campaign. There were none." Trump broke his silence roughly an hour after Manafort was convicted in a federal court on eight counts of bank and tax fraud brought by special counsel MORE, who is investigating alleged ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 campaign. While the crimes did not directly involve Trump – they stemmed from Manafort's work for the pro-Russian former leader of Ukraine – the verdict provided a major boost for Mueller's probe. Manafort was the first person indicted by the special counsel to face trial. It also raised questions about Trump's judgment, given that he hired Manafort after the alleged crimes were committed. Manafort, a longtime GOP operative who in recent years turned to foreign lobbying, led Trump's presidential campaign during a crucial three-mon... Link to the full article to read more