Kellyanne Conway, a former official in the administration of ex-President Donald Trump, has registered as a lobbyist on behalf of Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk's philanthropic foundation, foreign lobbying disclosures revealed.
Conway served as senior counselor to Trump from 2017 to 2020, departing from her position ahead of the 2020 presidential election. During her time in the administration, Conway was embroiled in a series of controversies.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel advised in 2019 that she be dismissed for repeatedly violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity in their official capacity.
According to the disclosure form shared by the U.S. Justice Department on Aug. 2, Conway will work for the Pinchuk Foundation's U.K. office, which is described as "a registered, private, nonpartisan, philanthropic company limited by guarantee in the U.K. primarily focused on advancing artistic, scientific, charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic purposes in Ukraine or related to Ukraine."
As a lobbyist for the foundation, Conway will "engage U.S. lawmakers, experts, and opinion makers to explain the importance of Ukraine to the rules-based order and the protection of democratic principles" and "contribute to raising awareness among U.S. decision-makers of Ukrainians' fight for freedom and the Russian illegal war of aggression."
Conway will also work to "convince U.S. lawmakers, experts, and opinion makers" to attend the upcoming conference of the Yalta European Strategy, scheduled to be held in Kyiv in September. She will be paid $50,000 a month for the duration of her collaboration with the foundation, set to run from July to November, with an option to extend.
The Kyiv Independent has reached out to the Pinchuk Foundation for comment.
The conference, founded by Pinchuk in 2004, has been held annually since then and attracts foreign leaders and experts from across the world. Trump attended the conference virtually in 2015, allegedly in exchange for a $150,000 donation from Pinchuk to one of the former president's charitable organizations.
The donation later drew scrutiny from special counsel Robert Mueller as part of a larger investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the alleged cooperation of members of the Trump campaign. It was nonetheless not included in Mueller's final report on the matter.
Pinchuk is one of the wealthiest Ukrainians, with an estimated net worth of around $2 billion, largely due to his role as a steel magnate. He previously served as a member of Ukraine's parliament from 1998 to 2006.
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