‘GATES’ OF HELL MAY LOOM FOR TRuMP
FORMER TRUMP campaign aide Rick Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making a false statement on Friday and agreed to cooperate in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.
Gates, who served a part of President Trump’s transition team, could be a key witness for investigators examining possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling.
The 45-year-old Virginia native, now facing four to six years in prison, appeared in federal court in Washington shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday.
His plea — one day after Mueller (photo right) unsealed a slew of new financial and tax charges against Gates and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort (photo far right) — could significantly change the dynamics of Mueller’s investigation.
It was a “gut-wrenching decision” for the former campaign official, a source familiar with his thinking told ABC News.
Gates admitted to taking part in a wide-ranging financial conspiracy with Manafort and lying about a March 19, 2013, meeting between his longtime colleague, a lobbyist and a member of Congress.
The lobbyist and the lawmaker are not named in the court documents, but the Associated Press discovered filings with the Justice Department showing Manafort and Vin Weber of Mercury Public Affairs met with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) on that date as part of an effort on behalf of Ukrainian interests.
A 32-count indictment unsealed on Thursday in Virginia, added to the money laundering and other charges leveled against the pair in October in relation to their work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.
Manafort and Gates allegedly made millions and hid the funds from American authorities.
The two also “fraudulently secured more than $20 million dollars in loans,” the indictment alleges.
“Blood money!” a protester shouted at Gates as he exited the courthouse Friday.
The disgraced campaign official also asked the judge’s permission to travel with his children to Boston for spring break they could “learn about American history in general, and the Revolutionary so War in particular.”
Hours later, Mueller filed a superseding indictment against Manafort accusing him of secretly paying former European politicians to lobby Congress and other U.S. officials on behalf of Ukraine.
He allegedly paid the ex-officials, known as the “Hapsburg Group,” 2 million euros from offshore accounts.
Manafort maintained his innocence.
“I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence,” he said in a statement released by spokesman Jason Maloni. “For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise.”
Gates could provide insight into the inner workings of the Trump campaign and transition moments crucial to Mueller’s probe.
His plea caps a whirlwind at week in which the special counsel’s office announced indictments against 13 Russians in a conspiracy to undermine the U.S. presidential election.
Gates joins Trump’s disgraced national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign volunteer George Papadopoulos in accepting a plea deal and pledging to work with Mueller.
Earlier in the week, the sonin-law of a Russian oligarch also pleaded guilty to lying to investigators in the wide-ranging probe.
Trump has publicly dismissed the investigation as a “witch hunt” and said there was no collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin. He has also argued that the charges against Gates and Manafort related to events that took place long before they joined his campaign.
But the latest court filings allege the pair were laundering money while working for Trump.
A recent report also alleged that Manafort promised a Chicago banker a White House position in exchange for loans that were worth millions.