Former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former campaign official Rick Gates have been indicted by a federal grand jury, becoming the first arrests in connection with the ongoing Russia investigation.
Both men turned themselves into the FBI Monday after the indictments were unsealed. They have been charged with 12 counts, including conspiracy to launder money, failing to register as a foreign agent, false statements, and multiple counts of failing to file reports for foreign bank accounts, the Associated Press reports.
Manafort and Gates are business associates, whose relationship goes back to the mid-2000s.
The charges do not cover any activities related to the campaign, CNN reports, but other indictments remain possible.
News of the indictments leaked Friday, though it was not clear who the defendants would be. It was unsealed Monday after the duo surrendered themselves to the FBI.
Manafort, a decades-long Washington lobbyist, joined Trump’s campaign in April 2016. He resigned four months later in August.
His lucrative and deep pro-Russian connections, especially in Ukraine, have come under scrutiny and been widely reported in recent months. Manafort and Gates worked as unregistered agents of the government of Ukraine, and were paid in tens of millions of dollars, according to the indictment. They hid their payments by laundering the money through U.S. and foreign corporations and bank accounts.
Both men will make their initial court appearances in federal court this afternoon.
The White House has yet to release an official statement, but the president did take to Twitter to comment on the newest development in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
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?????
