FBI Special Agent Brock Domin, in a declaration filed with Mr Mueller’s motion, said Mr Manafort had attempted to call, text, and send encrypted messages in February 2018 to two people from The Hapsburg Group, a firm he had worked with in the past when promoting the interests of Ukraine in the US.

Agents have recovered telephone and text records from Mr Manafort’s iCloud account as evidence of his contact with the two individuals, Mr Domin said.