Paul Manafort, former chairman of the Trump campaign, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges earlier this month and agreed to cooperate with the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
Since taking over the investigation last May, Mueller’s team has charged four Americans once affiliated with Trump’s campaign or administration, 13 Russian nationals, 12 Russian intelligence officers, three Russian companies, and two other people.
Here’s everyone who’s been charged in the Mueller probe so far:
DON’T MISS: Paul Manafort found guilty of 8 counts of tax fraud, bank fraud, and failure to report foreign bank accounts
Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight federal counts of bank and tax fraud and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one count of conspiracy against the US.
He also entered into a deal that included an agreement to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation.
Manafort previously faced a total of 18 counts, but the 10 remaining were dismissed during the plea hearing after a judge declared mistrial in a Virginia trial.
He surrendered to federal authorities on October 30, 2017, after he was indicted, along with his business associate Rick Gates, on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the US and money laundering.
Manafort was forced to step down as Trump’s campaign chairman in May 2016 after coming under fire for his connections to Russian oligarchs and his past lobbying efforts abroad.
Trump’s former campaign chairman is accused of committing crimes while working as an unregistered lobbyist in the US for the Ukrainian government and pro-Russia interests beginning in 2006.
It wasn’t immediately clear what information Manafort would offer investigators, but Trump’s legal team spoke out to insist they weren’t worried about the former campaign chief’s deal.
Rick Gates, one of Manafort’s business partners
In October 2017, Gates was indicted along with Manafort on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the US, making false statements, and failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. He at first pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Gates joined Trump election efforts in the spring of 2016, working as Manafort’s deputy. He traveled with Trump and grew close with many top campaign officials.
After Manafort was ousted as Trump’s campaign chief in August 2016, Gates continued working on behalf of the soon-to-be president, helping fundraise $25 million for the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policies and working on Trump’s inaugural committee. As Mueller’s probe intensified in the early months of the Trump administration, Gates left the nonprofit altogether.
But as recently as June 2017, The Daily Beast reported that Gates was still visiting the White House and working under Tom Barrack, who has remained one of Trump’s most trusted advisers.
Gates opted to take a plea deal in late February, pleading guilty to one charge of lying to investigators and one charge of conspiracy in exchange for becoming a cooperating witness in the Mueller probe. He testified against Manafort as the prosecution’s star witness in its case in Virginia.
Gates confessed to committing crimes with Manafort, and also stealing millions of dollars from his longtime business partner to finance an extramartial affair.
Defense attorneys sought to paint Gates as the mastermind of his and Manafort’s tax and bank fraud.
George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser
On the same day Mueller’s office announced the indictments of Manafort and Gates, it was revealed that George Papadopoulos, a 30-year-old former Trump adviser, had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.
According to documents that were unsealed by the Mueller investigation, Papadopoulos had made at least six attempts to set up a meeting between the Trump campaign and Russian representatives throughout the course of the 2016 presidential campaign, using a London-based professor named Joseph Mifsud and a female Russian national as conduits.
He was arrested October 5, 2017, and subsequently cooperated with Mueller’s team.
Trump has described Papadopoulos as a low-level volunteer.
“Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar,” Trump tweeted following news of the guilty plea. “Check the DEMS!”
Special counsel Robert Mueller last week recommended that Papadopoulos be sentenced to as many as six months in prison.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Here’s everyone who has been charged and convicted in Mueller’s Russia probe so far syndicated from https://sanantonioattorneyblog.blogspot.com
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