Manafort charged with conspiracy, money laundering

UPDATE: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates both pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and other crimes. Manafort and Gates turned themselves in to the FBI and appeared in federal court Monday morning.

UPDATE (11:20 a.m.): President Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday morning to crow over the lack of a connection between his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and Russian officials attempting to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump noted the indictment against Manafort involves actions he took “years ago,” before he joined Trump’s campaign. “Also, there is NO COLLUSION!” Trump added. Manafort faces 12 counts stemming from his work on pro-Russian political campaigns in Ukraine. The indictment alleges he and his business associate, Rick Gates, moved more than $75 million through secret bank accounts in Cyprus, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Seychelles. Prosecutors accuse Manafort of laundering $18 million and using the proceeds from his covert work to fund a “lavish lifestyle in the United States, without paying taxes on that income.” The indictments unsealed Monday also revealed former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty Oct. 5 to one count of lying to the FBI about his interactions with “foreign nationals” thought to have close ties with senior Russian officials. Papadopoulos worked on the campaign’s foreign policy team but had a limited role that reportedly included no interaction with Trump.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (9:30 a.m.): Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort surrendered to federal officials Monday, the first of the president’s associates officially charged in the Russian election meddling scandal. He faces charges of conspiracy against the United States, money laundering, failing to register as a foreign agent, making false statements, and multiple counts of failing to file reports for foreign bank accounts. Rick Gates, one of Manafort’s associates, also turned himself in to face charges. Late Friday, several media outlets reported a Washington grand jury handed down the first indictment in the investigation, although the details remained sealed until Monday’s arrests. Mueller’s team focused on Manafort’s Russian ties from the beginning of its investigation, raiding his Virginia home in July. Before joining Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, Manafort worked for pro-Russian political interests in Ukraine, serving as a consultant. His connections to Russian businessmen had already prompted Justice Department scrutiny. Mueller is trying to determine whether anyone in the Trump campaign, including the president and his family members, colluded with the Russians to help turn the election in Trump’s favor.