On Monday morning, CNN broke the news that Paul Manafort, who served a short stint as the Trump campaign chairman, had surrendered himself to special counsel Robert Mueller. He arrived at the FBI's Washington field office, and at 1:30pm, he will appear before a magistrate.
Long a center of Mueller's probe, Manafort has been seen as the most likely target by many pundits. He has deep connections to the Kremlin, and BuzzFeed published a shocking article on the past investigations of his alleged money laundering schemes.
Long a center of Mueller's probe, Manafort has been seen as the most likely target by many pundits. He has deep connections to the Kremlin, and BuzzFeed published a shocking article on the past investigations of his alleged money laundering schemes.
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| Paul Manafort & President Donald Trump |
However, on Monday, it was revealed that Manafort wasn't the only one facing jail time. Rick Gates, a longtime business associate of Manafort, and George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign foreign policy whiz, were also charged.
Earlier this month, Papadopoulos pled guilty to making a false statement to the FBI concerning his Russian contacts. Mueller made this revelation shortly after the charges were unsealed by the federal court.
Court documents show that Papadopoulos has been cooperating with federal investigators for months. Unlike Manafort and Gates, his guilty plea stems from crimes that occurred while he was a member of Team Trump. He allegedly attempted to set up a meeting with Kremlin officials.
Gates and Manafort, however, have yet to plead guilty.
They will be appearing before Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson at 1:30pm on Monday. The case is assigned to District Judge Amy Berman Johnson, who was appointed by Barack Obama. She previously donated $1,000 to Bill Clinton's presidential campaign.
Manafort and Gates have been charged with "a 12-count indictment with conspiracy to launder money, making false statements and other charges stemming from probes into possible Russian influence in U.S. political affairs," according to The Washington Post. A report in CNN reads,
The president seethed at the news of the indictments. In a tweet, Trump wrote, "Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????"
Earlier this month, Papadopoulos pled guilty to making a false statement to the FBI concerning his Russian contacts. Mueller made this revelation shortly after the charges were unsealed by the federal court.
Court documents show that Papadopoulos has been cooperating with federal investigators for months. Unlike Manafort and Gates, his guilty plea stems from crimes that occurred while he was a member of Team Trump. He allegedly attempted to set up a meeting with Kremlin officials.
Gates and Manafort, however, have yet to plead guilty.
They will be appearing before Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson at 1:30pm on Monday. The case is assigned to District Judge Amy Berman Johnson, who was appointed by Barack Obama. She previously donated $1,000 to Bill Clinton's presidential campaign.
Manafort and Gates have been charged with "a 12-count indictment with conspiracy to launder money, making false statements and other charges stemming from probes into possible Russian influence in U.S. political affairs," according to The Washington Post. A report in CNN reads,
The indictment against Manafort and Gates contains 12 counts: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.
The president seethed at the news of the indictments. In a tweet, Trump wrote, "Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????"
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