I believe Manafort WAS a plant. They had him dead to right. Hillary was supposed to win but they forced, under threat of prison, Manafort to go to work for the Trump campaign as insurance.
It's sometimes called covering all the bases.
The DEMONRATS knew the polls were rigged, they helped rig them. So IF on the small chance that Trump was able to overcome the massive election fraud, then they had RUSSIA.
If you listen to Hillary and Podesta, their thought process goes something like this:
Hillary could NOT have legitimately lost, but since she did, that means there must be something underhanded going on. Their explanation is that Trump colluded with the Russians to throw the election.
The presstitutes and demonrats are the only ones stupid enough to continue to buy it. And to seal the deal, they had to have some Russian crumbs planted. Dumba$$e$ like Senator Lyndsey Graham? He is of course a demonrat trapped in a Republican state.
If I recall correctly, Manafort wasn't with the Trump team long enough to have a cup of coffee.