Takeaways from the deal

Key elements from Paul Manafort’s agreement to plead guilty and cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III:

MUELLER KNOWS MORE THAN WE DO

The public doesn’t know what Manafort has agreed to tell the special counsel’s investigators. The White House may not know, either. But Mueller and his prosecutors have a pretty clear idea. Prosecutors in Manafort’s case have not given specifics about what he’s agreed to tell them.

MANAFORT KNOWS A LOT

Manafort was present for the meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 that Donald Trump Jr. held with a Russian lawyer who, he was told, would provide “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. His time at the campaign also overlapped with the first release by WikiLeaks of emails and other information taken from Democratic National Committee computers. Mueller has charged Russian intelligence agents with stealing that information.

THE CHANCE OF A PARDON IS LIMITED

Trump has suggested that he would consider pardoning Manafort, and he still could. But those hints all came before Manafort agreed to cooperate. Trump has little incentive to pardon Manafort once he’s already begun to cooperate.

MANAFORT LOSES PROPERTY

Manafort could face roughly 10 years in prison, although his lawyers likely will argue for less. But in addition, he has agreed to give up five properties in New York worth millions of dollars, including his apartment in Trump Tower, and several bank accounts. Prosecutors say all that property was tainted by his illegal activities.

MUELLER’S LIST OF VICTORIES GROWS

Although Trump frequently refers to the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt,” the special counsel has now won convictions of or secured guilty pleas from six defendants, including Trump’s campaign chairman, his deputy campaign chair and his first national security advisor. A seventh defendant, Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to charges brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan who were acting on a case that Mueller referred to them.