2 Trump campaign aides indicted
Manafort, Gates enter not guilty plea to charges of money laundering
WASHINGTON – Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in the first prosecutions in his federal investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, filed criminal charges Monday against two senior aides to President Donald Trump’s campaign and revealed that a third had already pleaded guilty.
A federal grand jury charged that Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his associate, Rick Gates, worked secretly to influence the U.S. government on behalf of pro-Russian factions in Ukraine, then laundered their profits through a series of overseas businesses and bank accounts.
Both pleaded not guilty during an appearance Monday in federal court, where a judge ordered both men held on home confinement, and set bail at $10 million for Manafort and $5 million for Gates.
In another case Monday, former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to FBI agents about meetings with a professor he knew was tied to the Russian government who offered him “dirt” on Trump’s election opponent, Hillary Clinton.
While Mueller stopped short of alleging that Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow during the election, the filings are the first allegation by prosecutors that Trump’s campaign aides worked with people they believed were tied to the Russian government to collect damaging information on Clinton.
Monday’s legal barrage is a dramatic step forward in the investigation Trump frequently dismisses as a meritless fishing expedition — and a sign it will continue. Legal filings show that Mueller is also willing to dig back before the election into questionable activities by Trump aides.
The charges against Manafort and Gates include 12 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, failing to register as foreign agents and making false statements to investigators.