Former Trump campaign chairman <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-ex-lawyer-michael-cohen-begins-3-year-jail-term-says-still-much-to-be-told-216528">Paul Manafort</a>, who was convicted of numerous federal crimes last year, is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to residential mortgage fraud and other New York state charges, setting the stage for a showdown over whether those charges amount to double jeopardy.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-ex-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-jailed-for-43-more-months-203163">Manafort</a>, 70, is scheduled to appear before Justice Maxwell Wiley of the state Supreme Court on Thursday at 2:15pm &nbsp;EDT (1815 GMT) to face an indictment with 16 felony charges disclosed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in March.

The charges include mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying records related to Manafort's efforts to obtain millions of dollars in loans on New York properties between 2015 and 2017. He served as chairman of US President Donald Trump's presidential campaign for three months until August 2016.

Todd Blanche, Manafort`s lawyer, told Reuters his client would plead not guilty. Blanche said he planned to bring a motion to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds, given that the charges centre on mortgage applications to two banks that were also at issue in Manafort`s federal trial last year.

Under New York law, a person can only be prosecuted twice for the same act if it meets certain exceptions such as at least one element of the crimes is distinct and the statutes address "very different kinds of harm or evil." Vance's office will likely argue an exception to New York`s double jeopardy protections is warranted in Manafort`s case.&nbsp;

Manafort is serving a 7-1/2-year sentence for tax fraud, bank fraud and other charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller`s federal investigation into Russia`s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Federal prosecutors accused him of hiding $16 million from US tax authorities that he earned as a consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine and then lying to banks to obtain loans to maintain a luxury lifestyle.&nbsp;

The New York state charges have been widely seen as an attempt to ensure Manafort serves significant prison time even if Trump grants him a pardon, a prospect the president has not ruled out. US presidents have the power to pardon people for federal but not state crimes.

Manafort faces up to 25 years in prison in New York on the top state charges.&nbsp;

Manafort's legal woes in New York have attracted the attention of the US Justice Department, which earlier this month decided to keep him in federal custody while the state proceedings take place out of concern for his health and safety.

The intervention, which legal experts said was unusual and raised concerns of special treatment, ensured that Manafort would not be placed in New York`s Rikers Island jail complex pending trial.

Manafort was instead transferred to a federal facility in Manhattan on June 13 ahead of his arraignment. He had been housed at a low-security federal prison in Pennsylvania before the move.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted of numerous federal crimes last year, is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to residential mortgage fraud and other New York state charges, setting the stage for a showdown over whether those charges amount to double jeopardy.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted of numerous federal crimes last year, is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to residential mortgage fraud and other New York state charges, setting the stage for a showdown over whether those charges amount to double jeopardy. Manafort, 70, is scheduled to appear before Justice Maxwell Wiley of the state Supreme Court on Thursday at 2:15pm EDT (1815 GMT) to face an indictment with 16 felony charges disclosed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in March. The charges include mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying records related to Manafort's efforts to obtain millions of dollars in loans on New York properties between 2015 and 2017. He served as chairman of US President Donald Trump's presidential campaign for three months until August 2016. Todd Blanche, Manafort`s lawyer, told Reuters his client would plead not guilty. Blanche said he planned to bring a motion to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds, given that the charges centre on mortgage applications to two banks that were also at issue in Manafort`s federal trial last year. Under New York law, a person can only be prosecuted twice for the same act if it meets certain exceptions such as at least one element of the crimes is distinct and the statutes address "very different kinds of harm or evil." Vance's office will likely argue an exception to New York`s double jeopardy protections is warranted in Manafort`s case. Manafort is serving a 7-1/2-year sentence for tax fraud, bank fraud and other charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller`s federal investigation into Russia`s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Federal prosecutors accused him of hiding $16 million from US tax authorities that he earned as a consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine and then lying to banks to obtain loans to maintain a luxury lifestyle. The New York state charges have been widely seen as an attempt to ensure Manafort serves significant prison time even if Trump grants him a pardon, a prospect the president has not ruled out. US presidents have the power to pardon people for federal but not state crimes. Manafort faces up to 25 years in prison in New York on the top state charges. Manafort's legal woes in New York have attracted the attention of the US Justice Department, which earlier this month decided to keep him in federal custody while the state proceedings take place out of concern for his health and safety. The intervention, which legal experts said was unusual and raised concerns of special treatment, ensured that Manafort would not be placed in New York`s Rikers Island jail complex pending trial. Manafort was instead transferred to a federal facility in Manhattan on June 13 ahead of his arraignment. He had been housed at a low-security federal prison in Pennsylvania before the move.

Ex-Trump aide Manafort to plead not guilty in New York

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-ex-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-jailed-for-43-more-months-203163">Paul Manafort, US President Donald Trump's former campaign</a> chairman who was convicted of tax and bank fraud, may be transferred to Rikers Island jail in New York to face state criminal charges, a person familiar with the matter said.

Manafort, 70, is serving a combined sentence of 7-1/2 years in prison from two separate federal criminal cases, the longest term of anyone stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and contacts between Moscow and Trump's campaign.

The veteran Republican political operative, who was paid millions of dollars for his work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, had been expected to be transferred to New York state custody in June, another person familiar with the matter said.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

Defendants facing charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney are typically held at Rikers Island, a troubled jail complex that handles about 9,000 people a day, another city jail known as the Tombs, or Bellevue hospital, if a defendant has a medical condition.

According to the New York City Department of Corrections, a judge will decide whether he will be entering their custody.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Manafort did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Manafort was charged by prosecutors in New York in March with residential mortgage fraud and other felonies, as state lawmakers moved to ensure that he can be prosecuted even if he receives a presidential pardon from Trump. Presidents possess the power to issue pardons for federal crimes, not state crimes.

Prosecutors said the charges involved a scheme in which Manafort and others falsified records to obtain millions of dollars related to property loans. Manafort faces up to 25 years in prison on the three most serious charges in the latest indictment, residential mortgage fraud in the first degree.

Manafort was convicted by a Virginia jury last year on tax and bank fraud charges and pleaded guilty in Washington to charges including unregistered lobbying and witness tampering.

Paul Manafort, US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman who was convicted of tax and bank fraud, may be transferred to Rikers Island jail in New York to face state criminal charges, a person familiar with the matter said.

Paul Manafort, US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman who was convicted of tax and bank fraud, may be transferred to Rikers Island jail in New York to face state criminal charges, a person familiar with the matter said. Manafort, 70, is serving a combined sentence of 7-1/2 years in prison from two separate federal criminal cases, the longest term of anyone stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and contacts between Moscow and Trump's campaign. The veteran Republican political operative, who was paid millions of dollars for his work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, had been expected to be transferred to New York state custody in June, another person familiar with the matter said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity. Defendants facing charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney are typically held at Rikers Island, a troubled jail complex that handles about 9,000 people a day, another city jail known as the Tombs, or Bellevue hospital, if a defendant has a medical condition. According to the New York City Department of Corrections, a judge will decide whether he will be entering their custody. A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Manafort did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Manafort was charged by prosecutors in New York in March with residential mortgage fraud and other felonies, as state lawmakers moved to ensure that he can be prosecuted even if he receives a presidential pardon from Trump. Presidents possess the power to issue pardons for federal crimes, not state crimes. Prosecutors said the charges involved a scheme in which Manafort and others falsified records to obtain millions of dollars related to property loans. Manafort faces up to 25 years in prison on the three most serious charges in the latest indictment, residential mortgage fraud in the first degree. Manafort was convicted by a Virginia jury last year on tax and bank fraud charges and pleaded guilty in Washington to charges including unregistered lobbying and witness tampering.

Former Trump campaign chairman Manafort may go to Rikers Island jail

President Donald Trump's former campaign chief <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-ex-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-sentenced-to-47-months-in-prison-for-tax-crimes-bank-fraud-201865">Paul Manafort, already facing 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud</a>, was sentenced to an additional 43 months in prison Wednesday on conspiracy charges.

"The defendant is not public enemy number one," US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said in delivering the sentence in a hushed Washington courtroom.

"But he is not a victim either," Jackson added, stressing that the veteran Republican lobbyist and political consultant had shown little remorse and had lied repeatedly.

Manafort's case is the highest-profile yet stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Jackson stressed to the court that the case had nothing to do with the 2016 vote but was connected to political consulting and lobbying activities he performed for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians.

She said the question of whether any members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia was "not presented in the case. Period."

"Therefore it was not resolved in this case either," Jackson said.

She ridiculed defense arguments that Manafort's prosecution only came about because of the Mueller probe.

"That argument falls flat," Jackson said. "The Department of Justice was already looking into this matter."

Before his sentencing, Manafort, who was brought into court in a wheelchair, pleaded to the judge not to sentence him to more time other than the 47 months he was given last week in a separate case.

"I am sorry for what I have done and all the activities that have got me here today," Manafort told the court.

"Let me be very clear I accept responsibility for the acts that have got me here today," he went on. "For those mistakes, I am remorseful."

But Jackson dismissed his plea for no more prison time on the charges of conspiring to launder money and tamper with witnesses.

She added 43 months to the 47 months he already received, making the total 90 months. She gave him credit for the nine months he has already spent in prison, reducing the term facing him to 81 months -- a little under seven years.

Manafort is one of a half-dozen former Trump associates and senior aides charged by Mueller, although none of them have been accused so far of direct collusion with Moscow to get Trump elected to the White House.

President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort, already facing 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud, was sentenced to an additional 43 months in prison Wednesday on conspiracy charges.

President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort, already facing 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud, was sentenced to an additional 43 months in prison Wednesday on conspiracy charges. "The defendant is not public enemy number one," US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said in delivering the sentence in a hushed Washington courtroom. "But he is not a victim either," Jackson added, stressing that the veteran Republican lobbyist and political consultant had shown little remorse and had lied repeatedly. Manafort's case is the highest-profile yet stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Jackson stressed to the court that the case had nothing to do with the 2016 vote but was connected to political consulting and lobbying activities he performed for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians. She said the question of whether any members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia was "not presented in the case. Period." "Therefore it was not resolved in this case either," Jackson said. She ridiculed defense arguments that Manafort's prosecution only came about because of the Mueller probe. "That argument falls flat," Jackson said. "The Department of Justice was already looking into this matter." Before his sentencing, Manafort, who was brought into court in a wheelchair, pleaded to the judge not to sentence him to more time other than the 47 months he was given last week in a separate case. "I am sorry for what I have done and all the activities that have got me here today," Manafort told the court. "Let me be very clear I accept responsibility for the acts that have got me here today," he went on. "For those mistakes, I am remorseful." But Jackson dismissed his plea for no more prison time on the charges of conspiring to launder money and tamper with witnesses. She added 43 months to the 47 months he already received, making the total 90 months. She gave him credit for the nine months he has already spent in prison, reducing the term facing him to 81 months -- a little under seven years. Manafort is one of a half-dozen former Trump associates and senior aides charged by Mueller, although none of them have been accused so far of direct collusion with Moscow to get Trump elected to the White House.

Trump's ex-campaign chief Paul Manafort jailed for 43 more months

WION Gravitas: Ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort jailed for tax and bank fraud

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-seals-3-billion-deal-with-russia-to-lease-nuclear-powered-submarine-201867">Russia to lease nuclear-powered submarine to India in deal worth $3 billion</a>

India on Thursday sealed a $3 billion deal with Russia for leasing of a nuclear-powered attack submarine for the Indian Navy for a period of 10 years, military sources said.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-ex-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-sentenced-to-47-months-in-prison-for-tax-crimes-bank-fraud-201865">Trump ex-campaign chief Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months in prison for tax crimes, bank fraud</a>

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison Thursday for tax crimes and bank fraud.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/europa-league-arsenal-slump-to-defeat-against-french-club-rennes-201871">Europa League: Arsenal slump to defeat against French club Rennes</a>

Chelsea outclassed Dynamo Kiev 3-0 in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday but Arsenal face an uphill task to make the quarter-finals after slumping to a 3-1 defeat at French club Rennes.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/lok-sabha-polls-first-list-of-congress-candidates-out-sonia-gandhi-to-contest-from-rae-bareli-rahul-from-amethi-201869">Lok Sabha polls: First list of Congress candidates out, Sonia Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli; Rahul from Amethi</a>

Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party on Thursday released its first official list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/22-terrorist-training-camps-active-in-pakistan-indian-official-201877">22 terrorist training camps active in Pakistan: Indian official</a>

As many as 22 terrorist training camps, including nine of Jaish-e-Mohammed, are active in Pakistan, but no action is being taken against them, a senior Indian official said here on Thursday, warning that New Delhi will carry out operation similar to that of the Balakot airstrike if there is an act of terrorism coming from across the border.

&nbsp;

Russia to lease nuclear-powered submarine to India in deal worth $3 billion India on Thursday sealed a $3 billion deal with Russia for leasing of a nuclear-powered attack submarine for the Indian Navy for a period of 10 years, military sources said.

Russia to lease nuclear-powered submarine to India in deal worth $3 billion India on Thursday sealed a $3 billion deal with Russia for leasing of a nuclear-powered attack submarine for the Indian Navy for a period of 10 years, military sources said. Trump ex-campaign chief Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months in prison for tax crimes, bank fraud US President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison Thursday for tax crimes and bank fraud. Europa League: Arsenal slump to defeat against French club Rennes Chelsea outclassed Dynamo Kiev 3-0 in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday but Arsenal face an uphill task to make the quarter-finals after slumping to a 3-1 defeat at French club Rennes. Lok Sabha polls: First list of Congress candidates out, Sonia Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli; Rahul from Amethi Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party on Thursday released its first official list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. 22 terrorist training camps active in Pakistan: Indian official As many as 22 terrorist training camps, including nine of Jaish-e-Mohammed, are active in Pakistan, but no action is being taken against them, a senior Indian official said here on Thursday, warning that New Delhi will carry out operation similar to that of the Balakot airstrike if there is an act of terrorism coming from across the border.

News brief: Big stories of the day

Former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort sentenced to 4 years in prison

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison Thursday for tax crimes and bank fraud.

It was the stiffest sentence yet given to an associate of the president in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling -- but significantly lighter than many expected for the 69-year-old political consultant.

In a rebuff to Mueller's call for stiff punishment, the judge called the official guidelines for a prison sentence of 19 to 24 years "excessive."

But Manafort still faces sentencing in a second case in Washington next week, where the maximum penalty is 10 years and the judge has appeared more sympathetic to prosecutors.&nbsp;

The charges involved Manafort's work for 10 years on behalf of Moscow-allied politicians in Ukraine, and nothing related to the 2016 election -- a<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/lawyers-for-former-trump-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-argue-for-leniency-200653">n issue he argued in asking the court for leniency</a>.

Prosecutors alleged that Manafort used offshore bank accounts in Cyprus to hide more than $55 million from Ukrainian politicians from the tax authorities.

He is one of six top advisors and associates of Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign to be charged in the Mueller investigation.

During Manafort's trial, much of the damaging testimony against him was provided by his former deputy Rick Gates, who is awaiting sentencing after reaching a plea agreement with the Special Counsel's office.

Besides Manafort and Gates, four other former Trump associates face charges or have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the Mueller investigation.

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials and is awaiting sentencing.

Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen is to begin serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6 for fraud, tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and lying to Congress.

George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was sentenced to two weeks in prison.

Another Trump advisor, Roger Stone, awaits trial.

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison Thursday for tax crimes and bank fraud. It was the stiffest sentence yet given to an associate of the president in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling -- but significantly lighter than many expected for the 69-year-old political consultant.

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison Thursday for tax crimes and bank fraud. It was the stiffest sentence yet given to an associate of the president in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling -- but significantly lighter than many expected for the 69-year-old political consultant. In a rebuff to Mueller's call for stiff punishment, the judge called the official guidelines for a prison sentence of 19 to 24 years "excessive." But Manafort still faces sentencing in a second case in Washington next week, where the maximum penalty is 10 years and the judge has appeared more sympathetic to prosecutors. The charges involved Manafort's work for 10 years on behalf of Moscow-allied politicians in Ukraine, and nothing related to the 2016 election -- an issue he argued in asking the court for leniency. Prosecutors alleged that Manafort used offshore bank accounts in Cyprus to hide more than $55 million from Ukrainian politicians from the tax authorities. He is one of six top advisors and associates of Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign to be charged in the Mueller investigation. During Manafort's trial, much of the damaging testimony against him was provided by his former deputy Rick Gates, who is awaiting sentencing after reaching a plea agreement with the Special Counsel's office. Besides Manafort and Gates, four other former Trump associates face charges or have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the Mueller investigation. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials and is awaiting sentencing. Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen is to begin serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6 for fraud, tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and lying to Congress. George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was sentenced to two weeks in prison. Another Trump advisor, Roger Stone, awaits trial.

Trump ex-campaign chief Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months in prison for tax crimes, bank fraud

US President Donald Trump's <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/lawyers-for-former-trump-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-argue-for-leniency-200653">former campaign chief Paul Manafort</a> is to be sentenced for tax crimes and bank fraud on Thursday in a high-profile case stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Manafort, who turns 70 in April, faces potentially spending the rest of his life behind bars when he comes before Judge TS&nbsp;Ellis at 3:30 pm in an Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom.

Manafort was convicted in August of five counts of filing false income tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account. The jury deadlocked on 10 other charges.

Manafort is one of a half dozen former Trump associates and senior aides charged by Mueller, who has been investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

The charges against Manafort were not connected to his role in the Trump campaign, which he headed for two months in 2016, but were related to lucrative consulting work he did for Ukrainian politicians from 2004 to 2014.

The sentencing guidelines for Manafort's crimes call for between 19 and 24 years in prison but his defence attorneys have urged Judge Ellis to impose a "substantially" lower jail term.

In a filing with the judge, they said the Republican political powerbroker is "truly remorseful" and is in poor health after spending the past nine months in prison.

Manafort, who suffers from gout, is a first-time offender and the sentencing guidelines are "clearly disproportionate" for the crimes he committed, his attorneys said.

Mueller's team issued a scathing rebuttal, stating that Manafort had breached a plea agreement reached with the government and lied repeatedly to the FBI and the Special Counsel's office.

Manafort is accused of lying about various matters including his contacts with a suspected Russian operative, Konstantin Kilimnik, with whom he reportedly shared polling data about the 2016 election.

"The defendant blames everyone from the Special Counsel's Office to his Ukrainian clients for his own criminal choices," prosecutors said.

Manafort was accused of hiding tens of millions of dollars from the US tax authorities which were paid as consulting fees for the work he did over the years for Russian-backed Ukrainian politicians.

'Own criminal actions' 
In arguing for a lighter sentence, Manafort's attorneys said he has been "devastated personally, professionally and financially."

Mueller's office countered that it was "Manafort's own criminal actions that have led to these consequences."

Trump has repeatedly denied any election collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch hunt."

Trump has also dangled the possibility of pardons for some of those indicted -- including Manafort, whom he has praised as a "good man" who has been treated unfairly.&nbsp;

Manafort has also been charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offences and faces separate sentencing in that case on March 13.

It was his work for Viktor Yanukovych, who served as president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014 when he fled to Russia amid corruption allegations, which got Manafort in trouble.

Prosecutors alleged that Manafort used offshore bank accounts in Cyprus to hide more than $55 million from Ukrainian politicians from the tax authorities.

The money was used to support a lavish lifestyle which included purchases of luxury homes and cars, antique rugs, and expensive clothes, including an $18,500 python jacket.

During Manafort's trial, much of the damaging testimony against him was provided by his former deputy Rick Gates, who is awaiting sentencing after reaching a plea agreement with the Special Counsel's office.

Besides Manafort and Gates, four other former Trump associates face charges or have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the Mueller investigation.

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials and is awaiting sentencing.

Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen is to begin serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6 for fraud, tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and lying to Congress.

George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was sentenced to two weeks in prison.

Another Trump advisor, Roger Stone, awaits trial.

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort is to be sentenced for tax crimes and bank fraud on Thursday in a high-profile case stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort is to be sentenced for tax crimes and bank fraud on Thursday in a high-profile case stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Manafort, who turns 70 in April, faces potentially spending the rest of his life behind bars when he comes before Judge TS Ellis at 3:30 pm in an Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom. Manafort was convicted in August of five counts of filing false income tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account. The jury deadlocked on 10 other charges. Manafort is one of a half dozen former Trump associates and senior aides charged by Mueller, who has been investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. The charges against Manafort were not connected to his role in the Trump campaign, which he headed for two months in 2016, but were related to lucrative consulting work he did for Ukrainian politicians from 2004 to 2014. The sentencing guidelines for Manafort's crimes call for between 19 and 24 years in prison but his defence attorneys have urged Judge Ellis to impose a "substantially" lower jail term. In a filing with the judge, they said the Republican political powerbroker is "truly remorseful" and is in poor health after spending the past nine months in prison. Manafort, who suffers from gout, is a first-time offender and the sentencing guidelines are "clearly disproportionate" for the crimes he committed, his attorneys said. Mueller's team issued a scathing rebuttal, stating that Manafort had breached a plea agreement reached with the government and lied repeatedly to the FBI and the Special Counsel's office. Manafort is accused of lying about various matters including his contacts with a suspected Russian operative, Konstantin Kilimnik, with whom he reportedly shared polling data about the 2016 election. "The defendant blames everyone from the Special Counsel's Office to his Ukrainian clients for his own criminal choices," prosecutors said. Manafort was accused of hiding tens of millions of dollars from the US tax authorities which were paid as consulting fees for the work he did over the years for Russian-backed Ukrainian politicians. 'Own criminal actions' In arguing for a lighter sentence, Manafort's attorneys said he has been "devastated personally, professionally and financially." Mueller's office countered that it was "Manafort's own criminal actions that have led to these consequences." Trump has repeatedly denied any election collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch hunt." Trump has also dangled the possibility of pardons for some of those indicted -- including Manafort, whom he has praised as a "good man" who has been treated unfairly. Manafort has also been charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offences and faces separate sentencing in that case on March 13. It was his work for Viktor Yanukovych, who served as president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014 when he fled to Russia amid corruption allegations, which got Manafort in trouble. Prosecutors alleged that Manafort used offshore bank accounts in Cyprus to hide more than $55 million from Ukrainian politicians from the tax authorities. The money was used to support a lavish lifestyle which included purchases of luxury homes and cars, antique rugs, and expensive clothes, including an $18,500 python jacket. During Manafort's trial, much of the damaging testimony against him was provided by his former deputy Rick Gates, who is awaiting sentencing after reaching a plea agreement with the Special Counsel's office. Besides Manafort and Gates, four other former Trump associates face charges or have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the Mueller investigation. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials and is awaiting sentencing. Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen is to begin serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6 for fraud, tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and lying to Congress. George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was sentenced to two weeks in prison. Another Trump advisor, Roger Stone, awaits trial.

Former Trump campaign chief to be sentenced, could face life in prison

Lawyers for President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort urged a judge on Friday to impose a sentence "substantially below" the potential 19 to 24 years in prison he is facing for tax crimes and bank fraud.

Manafort, 69, is to be sentenced on March 7 by Judge TS&nbsp;Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia after being convicted of five counts of filing false income tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account.

Manafort's attorneys, in a filing with the judge, said the sentencing guidelines -- which call for a prison term of 235 to 293 months -- are "clearly disproportionate to the offence conduct for which Mr Manafort was convicted."

"Mr Manafort acknowledges that he received a fair trial before this Court, he accepts the jury's verdict, and is truly remorseful for his conduct," they said.

His attorneys suggested a "sentence substantially below the range," arguing that Manafort is a first-time offender and is in poor health after spending the past nine months in prison.

Manafort is one of seven former Trump associates and senior aides who have been charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is believed to be nearing the end of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Mueller's office said in their own sentencing memo that Manafort was a "bold" criminal who "repeatedly and brazenly" broke the law but did not recommend a specific sentence.

Mueller's office said that Manafort violated the law for years and his sentence "must take into account the gravity of this conduct," to deter both Manafort and anyone else who would commit similar crimes.

"His criminal actions were bold," Mueller's office said, and included attempting to tamper with witnesses and lying to the FBI, government agencies and even his own lawyers.

Manafort's attorneys took issue with that characterization.

"The Special Counsel's attempt to vilify Mr Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this Court," they said.

"The cases that Special Counsel have brought against Mr Manafort have devastated him personally, professionally and financially," they said.

The charges against Manafort were not connected to his role in the Trump campaign but were for work he did for Russian-backed political parties in Ukraine between 2004 and 2014.

Manafort was also charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offences and faces separate sentencing in that case.

Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch hunt."

Lawyers for President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort urged a judge on Friday to impose a sentence "substantially below" the potential 19 to 24 years in prison he is facing for tax crimes and bank fraud.

Lawyers for President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort urged a judge on Friday to impose a sentence "substantially below" the potential 19 to 24 years in prison he is facing for tax crimes and bank fraud. Manafort, 69, is to be sentenced on March 7 by Judge TS Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia after being convicted of five counts of filing false income tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account. Manafort's attorneys, in a filing with the judge, said the sentencing guidelines -- which call for a prison term of 235 to 293 months -- are "clearly disproportionate to the offence conduct for which Mr Manafort was convicted." "Mr Manafort acknowledges that he received a fair trial before this Court, he accepts the jury's verdict, and is truly remorseful for his conduct," they said. His attorneys suggested a "sentence substantially below the range," arguing that Manafort is a first-time offender and is in poor health after spending the past nine months in prison. Manafort is one of seven former Trump associates and senior aides who have been charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is believed to be nearing the end of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Mueller's office said in their own sentencing memo that Manafort was a "bold" criminal who "repeatedly and brazenly" broke the law but did not recommend a specific sentence. Mueller's office said that Manafort violated the law for years and his sentence "must take into account the gravity of this conduct," to deter both Manafort and anyone else who would commit similar crimes. "His criminal actions were bold," Mueller's office said, and included attempting to tamper with witnesses and lying to the FBI, government agencies and even his own lawyers. Manafort's attorneys took issue with that characterization. "The Special Counsel's attempt to vilify Mr Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this Court," they said. "The cases that Special Counsel have brought against Mr Manafort have devastated him personally, professionally and financially," they said. The charges against Manafort were not connected to his role in the Trump campaign but were for work he did for Russian-backed political parties in Ukraine between 2004 and 2014. Manafort was also charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offences and faces separate sentencing in that case. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch hunt."

Lawyers for former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, argue for leniency

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office said in a sentencing memo released Saturday that President <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/paul-manafort-allegedly-lied-about-giving-polling-data-to-russian-report-189113">Donald Trump's former campaign director Paul Manafort was a "bold" criminal</a> who "repeatedly and brazenly" broke the law.&nbsp;

Manafort, 69, who pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges, faces sentencing on March 13. The memo addressed to the judge in charge of his case did not recommend a specific sentence -- but outlined the gravity of his crimes.

It said he violated the law for years and his sentence "must take into account the gravity of this conduct," to deter both Manafort and anyone who would commit similar crimes.

Manafort is one of six former Trump associates and senior aides who have been charged by Mueller's team, which is believed to be nearing the end of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

"Manafort committed an array of felonies for over a decade, up through the fall of 2018," the memo said, naming crimes including tax fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, bank fraud and violating a law related to lobbying.

"His criminal actions were bold," it continued, pointing out that they continued after he was charged, including attempting to tamper with witnesses, and lying to the FBI, government agencies and even his own lawyer.

Mueller's office last week said it agreed with a Justice Department calculation that Manafort should face up to 24 years in prison, after he was found to have violated a plea deal which agreed to a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Earlier this month, District Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed with prosecutors that Manafort had "intentionally" lied to investigators about his contacts with a suspected Russian operative, Konstantin Kilimnik, in 2016 and 2017 -- despite having pledged to cooperate as part of his September plea agreement.&nbsp;

Jackson also ruled that Manafort had lied about a secretive payment he made to a law firm, and lied on another occasion when investigators queried him about a separate, still secret investigation related to the Mueller probe.

Dated Friday, the memo was expected to be made public on Friday evening -- but was not released until Saturday, with several passages redacted.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office said in a sentencing memo released Saturday that President Donald Trump's former campaign director Paul Manafort was a "bold" criminal who "repeatedly and brazenly" broke the law.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office said in a sentencing memo released Saturday that President Donald Trump's former campaign director Paul Manafort was a "bold" criminal who "repeatedly and brazenly" broke the law. Manafort, 69, who pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges, faces sentencing on March 13. The memo addressed to the judge in charge of his case did not recommend a specific sentence -- but outlined the gravity of his crimes. It said he violated the law for years and his sentence "must take into account the gravity of this conduct," to deter both Manafort and anyone who would commit similar crimes. Manafort is one of six former Trump associates and senior aides who have been charged by Mueller's team, which is believed to be nearing the end of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. "Manafort committed an array of felonies for over a decade, up through the fall of 2018," the memo said, naming crimes including tax fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, bank fraud and violating a law related to lobbying. "His criminal actions were bold," it continued, pointing out that they continued after he was charged, including attempting to tamper with witnesses, and lying to the FBI, government agencies and even his own lawyer. Mueller's office last week said it agreed with a Justice Department calculation that Manafort should face up to 24 years in prison, after he was found to have violated a plea deal which agreed to a maximum sentence of 10 years. Earlier this month, District Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed with prosecutors that Manafort had "intentionally" lied to investigators about his contacts with a suspected Russian operative, Konstantin Kilimnik, in 2016 and 2017 -- despite having pledged to cooperate as part of his September plea agreement. Jackson also ruled that Manafort had lied about a secretive payment he made to a law firm, and lied on another occasion when investigators queried him about a separate, still secret investigation related to the Mueller probe. Dated Friday, the memo was expected to be made public on Friday evening -- but was not released until Saturday, with several passages redacted.

Robert Mueller: Former Trump campaign manager broke law 'repeatedly and brazenly'

Prosecutors for <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/mueller-probe-close-to-being-completed-acting-us-attorney-general-193552">Special Counsel Robert Mueller</a> urged a federal judge in Virginia on Friday to impose a strict prison sentence for President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, after a jury last year convicted him on eight counts of bank and tax fraud.

In their sentencing memo filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, prosecutors said Manafort, who is 69, deserves between 19.6 and 24.4 years in prison and a fine of between $50,000 and $24 million.

Friday's court filing in Virginia came just days after a federal judge in Washington, DC, ruled that Manafort had breached his plea agreement in a parallel case by lying to investigators despite a pledge to cooperate.

That finding earlier this week by Judge Amy Berman Jackson in US District Court for the District of Columbia could have a direct impact on how Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case.

Judge TS Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia, had planned to sentence Manafort on February 8, but he later postponed that until after Jackson's ruling, saying it "may have some effect on the sentencing decision in this case."

Manafort was one of the first people in Trump's orbit to face criminal charges as part of Mueller's investigation into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favour.

Trump has denied colluding and called the probe a witch hunt, while Russia has denied meddling in the election.

None of the charges Manafort faced related directly to Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.

In the Virginia case, prosecutors accused Manafort of hiding from US tax authorities $16 million he earned as a political consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, money he used to fund an opulent lifestyle.

Later, when his lobbying work started to dry up following the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, prosecutors said Manafort began lying to banks to secure $20 million in loans to keep his lifestyle afloat.

After almost four days of deliberations, a 12-member jury found Manafort guilty on two counts of bank fraud, five counts of tax fraud and one charge of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts.

Prosecutors for Special Counsel Robert Mueller urged a federal judge in Virginia on Friday to impose a strict prison sentence for President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, after a jury last year convicted him on eight counts of bank and tax fraud.

Prosecutors for Special Counsel Robert Mueller urged a federal judge in Virginia on Friday to impose a strict prison sentence for President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, after a jury last year convicted him on eight counts of bank and tax fraud. In their sentencing memo filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, prosecutors said Manafort, who is 69, deserves between 19.6 and 24.4 years in prison and a fine of between $50,000 and $24 million. Friday's court filing in Virginia came just days after a federal judge in Washington, DC, ruled that Manafort had breached his plea agreement in a parallel case by lying to investigators despite a pledge to cooperate. That finding earlier this week by Judge Amy Berman Jackson in US District Court for the District of Columbia could have a direct impact on how Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case. Judge TS Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia, had planned to sentence Manafort on February 8, but he later postponed that until after Jackson's ruling, saying it "may have some effect on the sentencing decision in this case." Manafort was one of the first people in Trump's orbit to face criminal charges as part of Mueller's investigation into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favour. Trump has denied colluding and called the probe a witch hunt, while Russia has denied meddling in the election. None of the charges Manafort faced related directly to Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. In the Virginia case, prosecutors accused Manafort of hiding from US tax authorities $16 million he earned as a political consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, money he used to fund an opulent lifestyle. Later, when his lobbying work started to dry up following the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, prosecutors said Manafort began lying to banks to secure $20 million in loans to keep his lifestyle afloat. After almost four days of deliberations, a 12-member jury found Manafort guilty on two counts of bank fraud, five counts of tax fraud and one charge of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts.

Special Counsel Mueller seeks tough sentence for ex-Trump campaign chairman Manafort

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was accused by federal prosecutors of lying about sharing polling data related to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign with a business partner with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, according to portions of a court filing by Manafort's defence team that were inadvertently made public on Tuesday.

Before sending the document to a public database for federal court filings, lawyers for Manafort had tried to black out the portion on polling data and other information about Manafort's interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a former business partner of Manafort's who Mueller has claimed in court filings has ties to Russian intelligence.

But some journalists, including at Vox and the Guardian, realised the redacted portions could be electronically reversed and posted uncensored versions on Twitter. Reuters did not independently review the filing, which was soon replaced in the public database with a properly redacted version.

Manafort's lawyers did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. A spokesman for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose office is prosecuting Manafort, declined to comment. Kilimnik could not be reached for comment.

According to the unredacted versions posted online, the blacked-out sections showed that Manafort has been accused by Mueller of lying about his sharing of polling data on the 2016 campaign with Kilimnik.

The sections posted online also stated that Mueller's office believes that Manafort lied to prosecutors about his discussions with Kilimnik about a "Ukrainian peace plan" and a meeting that Manafort had with Kilimnik when they both were in Madrid.

The filing did not provide further details on the Madrid meeting or the peace plan, although Mueller has scrutinized a proposal by a Ukrainian lawmaker that involved, among other outcomes, the lifting of US&nbsp;sanctions on Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.

In the document, Manafort's lawyers referenced a December court filing in which Mueller alleged that Manafort had "conceded" to discussing the peace plan, which they argued was an indication that their client was forthcoming when his memory was refreshed of past events.

The inadvertent disclosures offered a rare glimpse into details that were meant to remain private while Manafort's lawyers and Mueller's office battle over whether Manafort has breached a plea agreement struck in September by lying.

In December Mueller accused Manafort in a court filing of telling "multiple discernible lies" related to five subjects, including his interactions with Kilimnik and his contacts with Trump administration officials in 2018.

At the time Manafort's lawyers said their client never intentionally provided incorrect information to prosecutors, but asked the judge for time to consider whether they wanted to contest Mueller's allegations or proceed to sentencing.

US&nbsp;District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had given Manafort's lawyers until Monday to make a decision.

"The defence contests the Government’s conclusion and contends that any alleged misstatements, to the extent they occurred at all, were not intentional," Manafort's lawyers said in the filing, which was filed on Monday and released by the court on Tuesday.

In the filing Manafort's lawyers said they would not seek an evidentiary hearing to contest Mueller's allegations of lying, arguing that such factual matters could be addressed in a pre-sentencing report.

Following the filing by Manafort's lawyers, Jackson ordered the government to submit evidence supporting their allegations by Jan. 14, and held out the option of holding a hearing on the matter on Jan. 25.

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was accused by federal prosecutors of lying about sharing polling data related to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign with a business partner with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, according to portions of a court filing by Manafort's defence team that were inadvertently made public on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was accused by federal prosecutors of lying about sharing polling data related to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign with a business partner with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, according to portions of a court filing by Manafort's defence team that were inadvertently made public on Tuesday. Before sending the document to a public database for federal court filings, lawyers for Manafort had tried to black out the portion on polling data and other information about Manafort's interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a former business partner of Manafort's who Mueller has claimed in court filings has ties to Russian intelligence. But some journalists, including at Vox and the Guardian, realised the redacted portions could be electronically reversed and posted uncensored versions on Twitter. Reuters did not independently review the filing, which was soon replaced in the public database with a properly redacted version. Manafort's lawyers did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. A spokesman for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose office is prosecuting Manafort, declined to comment. Kilimnik could not be reached for comment. According to the unredacted versions posted online, the blacked-out sections showed that Manafort has been accused by Mueller of lying about his sharing of polling data on the 2016 campaign with Kilimnik. The sections posted online also stated that Mueller's office believes that Manafort lied to prosecutors about his discussions with Kilimnik about a "Ukrainian peace plan" and a meeting that Manafort had with Kilimnik when they both were in Madrid. The filing did not provide further details on the Madrid meeting or the peace plan, although Mueller has scrutinized a proposal by a Ukrainian lawmaker that involved, among other outcomes, the lifting of US sanctions on Russia, according to people familiar with the matter. In the document, Manafort's lawyers referenced a December court filing in which Mueller alleged that Manafort had "conceded" to discussing the peace plan, which they argued was an indication that their client was forthcoming when his memory was refreshed of past events. The inadvertent disclosures offered a rare glimpse into details that were meant to remain private while Manafort's lawyers and Mueller's office battle over whether Manafort has breached a plea agreement struck in September by lying. In December Mueller accused Manafort in a court filing of telling "multiple discernible lies" related to five subjects, including his interactions with Kilimnik and his contacts with Trump administration officials in 2018. At the time Manafort's lawyers said their client never intentionally provided incorrect information to prosecutors, but asked the judge for time to consider whether they wanted to contest Mueller's allegations or proceed to sentencing. US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had given Manafort's lawyers until Monday to make a decision. "The defence contests the Government’s conclusion and contends that any alleged misstatements, to the extent they occurred at all, were not intentional," Manafort's lawyers said in the filing, which was filed on Monday and released by the court on Tuesday. In the filing Manafort's lawyers said they would not seek an evidentiary hearing to contest Mueller's allegations of lying, arguing that such factual matters could be addressed in a pre-sentencing report. Following the filing by Manafort's lawyers, Jackson ordered the government to submit evidence supporting their allegations by Jan. 14, and held out the option of holding a hearing on the matter on Jan. 25.

Paul Manafort allegedly lied about giving polling data to Russian: Report

Federal prosecutors on Friday asked "substantial" prison term for Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump for paying an adult film star hush money on Trump's behalf and evading taxes.&nbsp;

The prosecutors also revealed alleged lies by another former Trump aide Paul Manafort.

Cohen, who has been cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 election campaign, pleaded guilty to financial crimes in August in New York, and to a separate charge of lying to Congress in a case disclosed by Mueller last week.

Prosecutors in both those cases were required to submit separate memos on Cohen's cooperation to US District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan, who will decide Cohen's sentence on December 12, reported Reuters.

Asking the judge to reject Cohen's request he be spared prison term, the New York prosecutors described Cohen in their filing as being motivated by "personal greed" and said he "repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends," the report added.

Prosecutors said his sentence should reflect a "modest" reduction from the four to five years they said federal guidelines would suggest.

Mueller said Cohen had voluntarily provided information about his own and others' conduct on "core topics under investigation" and described the information "credible and consistent with other evidence" they had obtained.

Citing Cohen's cooperation, Mueller suggested the sentence for lying to Congress run concurrently with the sentence in the New York case.

Mueller also revealed the details of alleged lies told by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, during interviews with prosecutors, reported Reuters.

Among other things, prosecutors said Manafort lied about his interactions with a political consultant who had ties to Russian intelligence, and about interactions with Trump administration officials even after Manafort was indicted in late 2017.

"In his interviews with the Special Counsel's Office and the FBI, Manafort told multiple discernible lies - these were not instances of mere memory lapses," Mueller said in the filing, which was requested by a federal judge in Washington after Mueller accused Manafort of breaching his plea deal last month.

Federal prosecutors on Friday asked "substantial" prison term for Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump for paying an adult film star hush money on Trump's behalf and evading taxes.

Federal prosecutors on Friday asked "substantial" prison term for Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump for paying an adult film star hush money on Trump's behalf and evading taxes. The prosecutors also revealed alleged lies by another former Trump aide Paul Manafort. Cohen, who has been cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 election campaign, pleaded guilty to financial crimes in August in New York, and to a separate charge of lying to Congress in a case disclosed by Mueller last week. Prosecutors in both those cases were required to submit separate memos on Cohen's cooperation to US District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan, who will decide Cohen's sentence on December 12, reported Reuters. Asking the judge to reject Cohen's request he be spared prison term, the New York prosecutors described Cohen in their filing as being motivated by "personal greed" and said he "repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends," the report added. Prosecutors said his sentence should reflect a "modest" reduction from the four to five years they said federal guidelines would suggest. Mueller said Cohen had voluntarily provided information about his own and others' conduct on "core topics under investigation" and described the information "credible and consistent with other evidence" they had obtained. Citing Cohen's cooperation, Mueller suggested the sentence for lying to Congress run concurrently with the sentence in the New York case. Mueller also revealed the details of alleged lies told by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, during interviews with prosecutors, reported Reuters. Among other things, prosecutors said Manafort lied about his interactions with a political consultant who had ties to Russian intelligence, and about interactions with Trump administration officials even after Manafort was indicted in late 2017. "In his interviews with the Special Counsel's Office and the FBI, Manafort told multiple discernible lies - these were not instances of mere memory lapses," Mueller said in the filing, which was requested by a federal judge in Washington after Mueller accused Manafort of breaching his plea deal last month.

US prosecutors call for substantial prison term for Cohen, detail Manafort's lies in Russia probe

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday revealed the details of alleged lies told by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, during interviews with prosecutors, reported Reuters.

Among other things,&nbsp;prosecutors said Manafort lied about his interactions with a political consultant who had ties to Russian intelligence, and about interactions with Trump administration officials even after Manafort was indicted in late 2017.

"In his interviews with the Special Counsel's Office and the FBI, Manafort told multiple discernible lies - these were not instances of mere memory lapses," Mueller said in the filing, which was requested by a federal judge in Washington after Mueller accused Manafort of breaching his plea deal last month.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday revealed the details of alleged lies told by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, during interviews with prosecutors, reported Reuters.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday revealed the details of alleged lies told by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, during interviews with prosecutors, reported Reuters. Among other things, prosecutors said Manafort lied about his interactions with a political consultant who had ties to Russian intelligence, and about interactions with Trump administration officials even after Manafort was indicted in late 2017. "In his interviews with the Special Counsel's Office and the FBI, Manafort told multiple discernible lies - these were not instances of mere memory lapses," Mueller said in the filing, which was requested by a federal judge in Washington after Mueller accused Manafort of breaching his plea deal last month.

Paul Manafort lied during interviews with prosecutors: Robert Mueller 

US&nbsp;Special Counsel Robert Mueller will provide new details on Friday on how two of President <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-manafort-pardon-not-off-the-table-interview-180174">Donald Trump</a>'s closest former aides have helped or hindered his investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 election campaign.

Mueller last month accused Trump's former campaign chairman <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/ex-trump-aide-manafort-violated-plea-agreement-by-lying-prosecutors-say-179643">Paul Manafort of breaching a plea bargain deal</a> by lying to prosecutors, and he will submit information on those alleged lies in a filing to a federal court in Washington.

That could include shedding new light on Manafort's business dealings or his consulting for pro-Kremlin interests in Ukraine.

Manafort, who maintains he has been truthful with Mueller, managed Trump's campaign for three months in 2016.

Also on Friday, Mueller's office and the Southern District of New York are to file sentencing memos on Michael Cohen, Trump's former private lawyer.

Cohen pleaded guilty to financial crimes in a New York court in August, and last week to lying to Congress in a Mueller case. Sentencing for both of those cases will be handled by one judge.

Attention will focus on whether Mueller discloses new information to supplement Cohen's admission last week that he sought help from the Kremlin for a Trump skyscraper in Moscow late into the 2016 campaign.

Mueller's probe has infuriated Trump. He denies any collusion between his team and Russia, and accuses Mueller's prosecutors of pressuring his former aides to lie about him, his election campaign and his business dealings.

The president has called Cohen a liar and "weak person."

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, said he was eager to see if Mueller's prosecutors directly or tacitly support Cohen's assertions that Trump directed him to make hush payments to women in violation of campaign finance law and that he let the White House know what he planned to tell Congress about the Moscow skyscraper project. Cohen now says he lied in that testimony.

"If the government does not contest that, it indicates that it is consistent with the evidence that they do have," Mariotti said, referring to Cohen's assertions. "It could be a big day."

Sending a message?

The filings on Cohen and Manafort follow a sentencing memo earlier this week on Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In that memo, Mueller praised Flynn for providing "substantial" cooperation and argued that Flynn should receive no prison time, a move widely seen by legal experts as a message to other would-be cooperators that assistance would be rewarded.

Cohen is hoping he will get similar credit, emphasizing in a court filing last week that his decision to cooperate came in the face of fierce criticism by Trump of Mueller's probe.

Cohen's lawyers also argued that celebrities engaged in similar tax evasion cases - one of the core charges against him - faced only civil penalties. They said his financial crimes were unsophisticated, noting no overseas accounts were used.

Manafort, in addition to allegedly lying to Mueller, was convicted in a separate case in Virginia for a sophisticated bank and tax fraud scheme that included tens of millions of dollars in payments for his work in Ukraine.

Mariotti said he expected Mueller's office to be unsparing in its submission on Friday.

"They want the judge to throw the book at Manafort, sending a message to him and everyone else," he said.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller will provide new details on Friday on how two of President Donald Trump's closest former aides have helped or hindered his investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 election campaign.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller will provide new details on Friday on how two of President Donald Trump's closest former aides have helped or hindered his investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 election campaign. Mueller last month accused Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort of breaching a plea bargain deal by lying to prosecutors, and he will submit information on those alleged lies in a filing to a federal court in Washington. That could include shedding new light on Manafort's business dealings or his consulting for pro-Kremlin interests in Ukraine. Manafort, who maintains he has been truthful with Mueller, managed Trump's campaign for three months in 2016. Also on Friday, Mueller's office and the Southern District of New York are to file sentencing memos on Michael Cohen, Trump's former private lawyer. Cohen pleaded guilty to financial crimes in a New York court in August, and last week to lying to Congress in a Mueller case. Sentencing for both of those cases will be handled by one judge. Attention will focus on whether Mueller discloses new information to supplement Cohen's admission last week that he sought help from the Kremlin for a Trump skyscraper in Moscow late into the 2016 campaign. Mueller's probe has infuriated Trump. He denies any collusion between his team and Russia, and accuses Mueller's prosecutors of pressuring his former aides to lie about him, his election campaign and his business dealings. The president has called Cohen a liar and "weak person." Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, said he was eager to see if Mueller's prosecutors directly or tacitly support Cohen's assertions that Trump directed him to make hush payments to women in violation of campaign finance law and that he let the White House know what he planned to tell Congress about the Moscow skyscraper project. Cohen now says he lied in that testimony. "If the government does not contest that, it indicates that it is consistent with the evidence that they do have," Mariotti said, referring to Cohen's assertions. "It could be a big day." Sending a message? The filings on Cohen and Manafort follow a sentencing memo earlier this week on Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. In that memo, Mueller praised Flynn for providing "substantial" cooperation and argued that Flynn should receive no prison time, a move widely seen by legal experts as a message to other would-be cooperators that assistance would be rewarded. Cohen is hoping he will get similar credit, emphasizing in a court filing last week that his decision to cooperate came in the face of fierce criticism by Trump of Mueller's probe. Cohen's lawyers also argued that celebrities engaged in similar tax evasion cases - one of the core charges against him - faced only civil penalties. They said his financial crimes were unsophisticated, noting no overseas accounts were used. Manafort, in addition to allegedly lying to Mueller, was convicted in a separate case in Virginia for a sophisticated bank and tax fraud scheme that included tens of millions of dollars in payments for his work in Ukraine. Mariotti said he expected Mueller's office to be unsparing in its submission on Friday. "They want the judge to throw the book at Manafort, sending a message to him and everyone else," he said.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller to give details on Russia probe with filings on former Trump aides

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had not ruled out granting a pardon to his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/ex-trump-aide-manafort-violated-plea-agreement-by-lying-prosecutors-say-179643">pleaded guilty to a range of federal charges</a> from money laundering to unregistered lobbying.

"It was never discussed, but I wouldn’t take it off the table. Why would I take it off the table?” the president told the New York Post during an Oval Office interview.

Prosecutors for the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential election said in a court filing on Monday that Manafort had lied to them, breaching a plea agreement.

"Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel's Office on a variety of subject matters," Special Counsel Robert Mueller said in the filing. The filing did not give details but promised more as part of a pre-sentencing report.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Manafort's alleged false statements included comments about his business dealings and contacts with a former associate in Ukraine.

Those statements did not appear to be central to the allegations Mueller is investigating of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, but it is unclear if prosecutors plan to accuse Manafort of additional lies, the Journal reported. Moscow denies meddling in the 2016 election and Trump has denied any collusion occurred.

Spokesmen for Manafort and Mueller both declined to comment on the Journal story.

Manafort said in the court filing that he disagreed with the special counsel's assertion that he had lied, but both sides agreed the court should move ahead and sentence him for his crimes.

Without a pardon, the 69-year-old Manafort could spend the rest of his life in prison, experts said.

The breakdown in the plea deal means that Manafort will almost certainly be hit with a harsher sentence - both for the crimes he pleaded guilty to in Washington and for his conviction in August in a separate case in Virginia on bank and tax fraud.

Manafort was likely facing about 10 years in prison for the eight guilty counts in the Virginia case alone, sentencing experts have said.

But the development also raised speculation that Manafort may be seeking to curry favor with Trump or protecting other associates who worked on the campaign.

Trump has been vocal in his support for Manafort, lauding him as a "very good person" during the Virginia trial.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had not ruled out granting a pardon to his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has pleaded guilty to a range of federal charges from money laundering to unregistered lobbying.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had not ruled out granting a pardon to his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has pleaded guilty to a range of federal charges from money laundering to unregistered lobbying. "It was never discussed, but I wouldn’t take it off the table. Why would I take it off the table?” the president told the New York Post during an Oval Office interview. Prosecutors for the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election said in a court filing on Monday that Manafort had lied to them, breaching a plea agreement. "Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel's Office on a variety of subject matters," Special Counsel Robert Mueller said in the filing. The filing did not give details but promised more as part of a pre-sentencing report. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Manafort's alleged false statements included comments about his business dealings and contacts with a former associate in Ukraine. Those statements did not appear to be central to the allegations Mueller is investigating of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, but it is unclear if prosecutors plan to accuse Manafort of additional lies, the Journal reported. Moscow denies meddling in the 2016 election and Trump has denied any collusion occurred. Spokesmen for Manafort and Mueller both declined to comment on the Journal story. Manafort said in the court filing that he disagreed with the special counsel's assertion that he had lied, but both sides agreed the court should move ahead and sentence him for his crimes. Without a pardon, the 69-year-old Manafort could spend the rest of his life in prison, experts said. The breakdown in the plea deal means that Manafort will almost certainly be hit with a harsher sentence - both for the crimes he pleaded guilty to in Washington and for his conviction in August in a separate case in Virginia on bank and tax fraud. Manafort was likely facing about 10 years in prison for the eight guilty counts in the Virginia case alone, sentencing experts have said. But the development also raised speculation that Manafort may be seeking to curry favor with Trump or protecting other associates who worked on the campaign. Trump has been vocal in his support for Manafort, lauding him as a "very good person" during the Virginia trial.

Trump says Manafort pardon 'not off the table'

Donald Trump's <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/ex-trump-aide-paul-manafort-is-first-to-go-on-trial-in-russia-probe-155733">former campaign chairman Paul Manafort</a> lied to the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, breaching his plea agreement, according to a court filing on Monday.

Manafort said in the same filing he disagreed with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's assertion that he lied to investigators.

Both the special counsel and Manafort's attorneys agreed there was no reason to delay his sentencing and asked the court to set a date for that.

Mueller, who is also probing possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign, said in the filing that after signing a plea agreement: "Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters."

Mueller said in the filing that those lies breached Manafort's plea agreement.

Manafort's attorneys said in the same filing submitted to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington that Manafort had met with the government on several occasions and provided information "in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations."

They said Manafort disagreed with the characterization that he had breached the agreement.

The breakdown in the plea deal raises the prospect that Manafort is seeking to protect others who worked on Trump's campaign and to curry favour with the president, said former federal prosecutor David Weinstein.

"It seems to me he’s angling for the pardon," he said.

Manafort, a longtime Republican political consultant who made tens of millions of dollars working for pro-Kremlin politicians in Ukraine, ran the Trump campaign as it took off in mid-2016.

He attended a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with a group of Russians offering damaging information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost in an upset to Trump in the presidential vote that November.

Russia denies U.S. allegations it hacked Democratic Party emails and ran a disinformation campaign, largely on social media. Trump denies any campaign collusion and calls the investigation a political witch hunt.

Manafort had started cooperating with Mueller's prosecutors in September this year after pleading guilty to conspiracy against the United States - a charge that including a range of conduct from money laundering to unregistered lobbying, and to attempting to tamper with witnesses.

The deal required him to cooperate completely with the government, including testifying before any grand juries or at any trials. In return, Mueller promised to argue for leniency at sentencing.

The agreement pertains to one of two cases against Manafort. He was convicted by a jury in August on tax and bank fraud charges in the other case in Virginia.

Rudy Giuliani, who represents Trump in the Russia investigation, told Reuters in October that he had periodically spoken with Manafort's lawyer, Kevin Downing, and that he believed Manafort had not provided any information to prosecutors that was damaging to the president.

Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, breaching his plea agreement, according to a court filing on Monday.

Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, breaching his plea agreement, according to a court filing on Monday. Manafort said in the same filing he disagreed with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's assertion that he lied to investigators. Both the special counsel and Manafort's attorneys agreed there was no reason to delay his sentencing and asked the court to set a date for that. Mueller, who is also probing possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign, said in the filing that after signing a plea agreement: "Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters." Mueller said in the filing that those lies breached Manafort's plea agreement. Manafort's attorneys said in the same filing submitted to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington that Manafort had met with the government on several occasions and provided information "in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations." They said Manafort disagreed with the characterization that he had breached the agreement. The breakdown in the plea deal raises the prospect that Manafort is seeking to protect others who worked on Trump's campaign and to curry favour with the president, said former federal prosecutor David Weinstein. "It seems to me he’s angling for the pardon," he said. Manafort, a longtime Republican political consultant who made tens of millions of dollars working for pro-Kremlin politicians in Ukraine, ran the Trump campaign as it took off in mid-2016. He attended a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with a group of Russians offering damaging information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost in an upset to Trump in the presidential vote that November. Russia denies U.S. allegations it hacked Democratic Party emails and ran a disinformation campaign, largely on social media. Trump denies any campaign collusion and calls the investigation a political witch hunt. Manafort had started cooperating with Mueller's prosecutors in September this year after pleading guilty to conspiracy against the United States - a charge that including a range of conduct from money laundering to unregistered lobbying, and to attempting to tamper with witnesses. The deal required him to cooperate completely with the government, including testifying before any grand juries or at any trials. In return, Mueller promised to argue for leniency at sentencing. The agreement pertains to one of two cases against Manafort. He was convicted by a jury in August on tax and bank fraud charges in the other case in Virginia. Rudy Giuliani, who represents Trump in the Russia investigation, told Reuters in October that he had periodically spoken with Manafort's lawyer, Kevin Downing, and that he believed Manafort had not provided any information to prosecutors that was damaging to the president.

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Manafort lied to FBI: Mueller

A second foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign has admitted to contacts with Russian officials during last year&#39;s election and to having proposed that Trump travel&nbsp;to Russia during the campaign.

Former investment banker and Russia expert Carter Page told the House Intelligence Committee last week that he had &quot;brief&quot; contact with a Russian deputy prime minister, Arkady Dvorkovich, during a &quot;private&quot; trip to Moscow in July 2016, according to a transcript of his testimony released late Monday.

Page also said that he had proposed in May 2016 that Donald Trump travel to Russia to meet officials and make a speech.

That was the same month that another foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, also suggested a Trump Moscow visit, according to court documents last week.

The Page testimony added to the mounting ?evidence of numerous contacts between Trump&#39;s presidential campaign and Russia in 2016 just at the time Moscow was mounting a hacking and disinformation operation aimed and boosting Trump&#39;s chances to win the White House.

The House committee and its Senate counterpart, along with a justice department special prosecutor, are investigating whether the campaign colluded with the Russians in any way to help defeat then-front-runner Hillary Clinton.

&nbsp;Parallels to Papadopoulos&nbsp;

Page told the committee in a closed-door hearing last Thursday that he was an unpaid volunteer on Trump&#39;s initial foreign policy advisory team, never met or spoke directly to Trump, and had no inappropriate contacts in Russia.

But in questioning he admitted contacts with Dvorkovich, other officials, businessmen and senior academics while in the country on trips in July and December.

He said he had told Jeff Sessions, now US attorney general but at the time in 2016 the leader of the foreign policy team, that he was planning the Moscow trip to lecture at a university which invited him.

Upon returning, he suggested to senior campaign officials in an email that he had done more than that.

&quot;I&#39;ll send you guys a readout soon regarding some incredible insights and outreach I received from a few Russian legislators and senior members of the presidential administration here,&quot; he wrote.

Page&#39;s Russia contacts paralleled those of Papadopoulos, who, according to the FBI, wrote a number of emails to senior Trump campaign officials between March and September last year about his own Russian contacts and proposed Trump travel to Moscow.

Nothing came of either proposal, and White House officials say both Page and Papadopoulos were insignificant aides on the campaign with few responsibilities or input.

Last week Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his Russia contacts during 2016.&nbsp;

In his testimony, Page strongly downplayed his role on the campaign. He told the committee that he never &quot;met&quot; Trump, and had never spoken to him &quot;directly&quot;.

But he also said he had &quot;been in a lot of meetings with him (Trump), and I&#39;ve learned a lot from him.&quot;

Trump&#39;s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia.

Former investment banker and Russia expert Carter Page told the House Intelligence Committee last week that he had 'brief' contact with a Russian deputy prime minister, Arkady Dvorkovich

A second foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign has admitted to contacts with Russian officials during last year's election and to having proposed that Trump travel to Russia during the campaign. Former investment banker and Russia expert Carter Page told the House Intelligence Committee last week that he had "brief" contact with a Russian deputy prime minister, Arkady Dvorkovich, during a "private" trip to Moscow in July 2016, according to a transcript of his testimony released late Monday. Page also said that he had proposed in May 2016 that Donald Trump travel to Russia to meet officials and make a speech. That was the same month that another foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, also suggested a Trump Moscow visit, according to court documents last week. The Page testimony added to the mounting ?evidence of numerous contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia in 2016 just at the time Moscow was mounting a hacking and disinformation operation aimed and boosting Trump's chances to win the White House. The House committee and its Senate counterpart, along with a justice department special prosecutor, are investigating whether the campaign colluded with the Russians in any way to help defeat then-front-runner Hillary Clinton. Parallels to Papadopoulos Page told the committee in a closed-door hearing last Thursday that he was an unpaid volunteer on Trump's initial foreign policy advisory team, never met or spoke directly to Trump, and had no inappropriate contacts in Russia. But in questioning he admitted contacts with Dvorkovich, other officials, businessmen and senior academics while in the country on trips in July and December. He said he had told Jeff Sessions, now US attorney general but at the time in 2016 the leader of the foreign policy team, that he was planning the Moscow trip to lecture at a university which invited him. Upon returning, he suggested to senior campaign officials in an email that he had done more than that. "I'll send you guys a readout soon regarding some incredible insights and outreach I received from a few Russian legislators and senior members of the presidential administration here," he wrote. Page's Russia contacts paralleled those of Papadopoulos, who, according to the FBI, wrote a number of emails to senior Trump campaign officials between March and September last year about his own Russian contacts and proposed Trump travel to Moscow. Nothing came of either proposal, and White House officials say both Page and Papadopoulos were insignificant aides on the campaign with few responsibilities or input. Last week Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his Russia contacts during 2016. In his testimony, Page strongly downplayed his role on the campaign. He told the committee that he never "met" Trump, and had never spoken to him "directly". But he also said he had "been in a lot of meetings with him (Trump), and I've learned a lot from him." Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia.

Second Trump campaign advisor admits to Russia contacts

Federal investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election charged President Donald Trump&#39;s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and another aide, Rick Gates, with money laundering on Monday.

A third former Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty in early October to lying to the FBI, it was announced on Monday.

It was a sharp escalation of U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller&#39;s five-month-old investigation into alleged Russian efforts to tilt the election in Trump&#39;s favour and into potential collusion by Trump aides.

Manafort, 68, a longtime Republican operative, and Gates were arraigned at a federal courthouse in Washington.

Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges against them in a 12-count indictment, ranging from money laundering to acting as unregistered agents of Ukraine&#39;s former pro-Russian government.

The judge ordered house arrest for both men, and set a $10 million unsecured bond for Manafort and a $5 million unsecured bond for Gates. With unsecured bonds, they are released without having to pay but will owe money if they fail to appear in court. There will be another hearing on Thursday.

The developments in the Mueller probe weighed on the U.S. dollar, which slipped 0.5 percent against a basket of currencies.

Mueller&#39;s investigation and others by congressional committees into alleged Russian efforts to influence the election have cast a shadow over Trump&#39;s first nine months in office.

Neither Trump nor his campaign was mentioned in the indictment against Manafort and Gates. The charges, some going back more than a decade, centre on Manafort&#39;s work for Ukraine.

The indictment includes accusations of conspiracy against the United States, failure to report foreign bank accounts to the U.S. government and conspiracy to launder money, a count that carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

A White House spokeswoman said the indictment had nothing to do with Trump or his campaign and showed no evidence of collusion between the campaign and Russia.

&quot;We&#39;ve been saying from Day One there&#39;s no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion, and nothing in the indictment today changes that at all,&quot; spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a news briefing.

Manafort&#39;s attorney, Kevin Downing said in a statement that there was no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. Downing said Manafort&#39;s work for the Ukrainians ended in 2014, two years before he joined the Trump campaign.

Downing accused Mueller of using a &quot;novel&quot; legal theory to prosecute Manafort under a law requiring lobbyists to register with the Department of Justice when they are doing work for a foreign government.

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago, said the charges against Manafort could put pressure on him to cooperate with the Russia investigation.

&quot;If I were the defence lawyer, I&#39;d be looking into cooperating,&rdquo; he said.

GUILTY PLEA

In a development directly related to Trump&#39;s 2016 election campaign, it emerged on Monday that Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser, pleaded guilty earlier this month to making false statements to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.

Mueller&#39;s office said Papadopoulos lied to FBI agents about the timing of contact between him and a professor in London who claimed to have information that would hurt Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Papadopoulos, a little-known former foreign policy adviser in the campaign, made a plea bargain which stated that he has since &quot;met with the Government on numerous occasions to provide information and answer questions,&quot; according to a court document.

White House spokeswoman Sanders played down Papadopoulos&#39; campaign role, saying it was &quot;extremely limited&quot; and that he was a volunteer.

&quot;He asked to do things (and) he was basically pushed back or not responded to in any way,&quot; she said.

U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia interfered in the election, by hacking and releasing embarrassing emails and disseminating propaganda via social media to discredit Clinton.

Manafort ran the Trump campaign from June to August of 2016 before resigning amid reports he might have received millions of dollars in illegal payments from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.

Trump on Monday reiterated his frustration with the Mueller probe, which he has called &quot;a witch hunt.&quot; Moscow also denies the allegations.

&quot;Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren&#39;t Crooked Hillary &amp; the Dems the focus?????,&quot; Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to Clinton.

Mueller has been investigating Manafort&rsquo;s financial and real estate dealings and his prior work for a political group, the Party of Regions, which backed former pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.

Both Manafort and Gates generated tens of millions of dollars of income from Ukraine work and laundered money through scores of U.S. and foreign entities to hide payments from American authorities, the indictment said.

They concealed from the United States their work and revenue as agents of Ukrainian political parties and used their wealth to lead a &quot;lavish lifestyle&quot; without paying taxes on the income, it said.

The indictment said Manafort owned properties in Manhattan; Brooklyn; the Hamptons; Arlington, Virginia, and elsewhere.

Prosecutors said Manafort spent almost $1 million on eight rugs in two years and more than $1.3 million on clothes from shops in Beverly Hills, California, and New York City. They also said he had been making payments on four Range Rovers and a Mercedes-Benz.

Gates was a longtime business partner of Manafort and has ties to Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. He also served as deputy to Manafort during his brief tenure as Trump&#39;s campaign chairman.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer called for the Trump administration to avoid interfering with Mueller&#39;s probe.

&quot;The rule of law is paramount in America and the investigation must be allowed to proceed unimpeded. The president must not, under any circumstances, interfere with the special counsel&rsquo;s work in any way,&quot; Schumer said.

A third former Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty in early October to lying to the FBI, it was announced on Monday.

Federal investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election charged President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and another aide, Rick Gates, with money laundering on Monday. A third former Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty in early October to lying to the FBI, it was announced on Monday. It was a sharp escalation of U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller's five-month-old investigation into alleged Russian efforts to tilt the election in Trump's favour and into potential collusion by Trump aides. Manafort, 68, a longtime Republican operative, and Gates were arraigned at a federal courthouse in Washington. Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges against them in a 12-count indictment, ranging from money laundering to acting as unregistered agents of Ukraine's former pro-Russian government. The judge ordered house arrest for both men, and set a $10 million unsecured bond for Manafort and a $5 million unsecured bond for Gates. With unsecured bonds, they are released without having to pay but will owe money if they fail to appear in court. There will be another hearing on Thursday. The developments in the Mueller probe weighed on the U.S. dollar, which slipped 0.5 percent against a basket of currencies. Mueller's investigation and others by congressional committees into alleged Russian efforts to influence the election have cast a shadow over Trump's first nine months in office. Neither Trump nor his campaign was mentioned in the indictment against Manafort and Gates. The charges, some going back more than a decade, centre on Manafort's work for Ukraine. The indictment includes accusations of conspiracy against the United States, failure to report foreign bank accounts to the U.S. government and conspiracy to launder money, a count that carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence. A White House spokeswoman said the indictment had nothing to do with Trump or his campaign and showed no evidence of collusion between the campaign and Russia. "We've been saying from Day One there's no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion, and nothing in the indictment today changes that at all," spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a news briefing. Manafort's attorney, Kevin Downing said in a statement that there was no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. Downing said Manafort's work for the Ukrainians ended in 2014, two years before he joined the Trump campaign. Downing accused Mueller of using a "novel" legal theory to prosecute Manafort under a law requiring lobbyists to register with the Department of Justice when they are doing work for a foreign government. Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago, said the charges against Manafort could put pressure on him to cooperate with the Russia investigation. "If I were the defence lawyer, I'd be looking into cooperating,” he said. GUILTY PLEA In a development directly related to Trump's 2016 election campaign, it emerged on Monday that Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser, pleaded guilty earlier this month to making false statements to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. Mueller's office said Papadopoulos lied to FBI agents about the timing of contact between him and a professor in London who claimed to have information that would hurt Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Papadopoulos, a little-known former foreign policy adviser in the campaign, made a plea bargain which stated that he has since "met with the Government on numerous occasions to provide information and answer questions," according to a court document. White House spokeswoman Sanders played down Papadopoulos' campaign role, saying it was "extremely limited" and that he was a volunteer. "He asked to do things (and) he was basically pushed back or not responded to in any way," she said. U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia interfered in the election, by hacking and releasing embarrassing emails and disseminating propaganda via social media to discredit Clinton. Manafort ran the Trump campaign from June to August of 2016 before resigning amid reports he might have received millions of dollars in illegal payments from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine. Trump on Monday reiterated his frustration with the Mueller probe, which he has called "a witch hunt." Moscow also denies the allegations. "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?????," Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to Clinton. Mueller has been investigating Manafort’s financial and real estate dealings and his prior work for a political group, the Party of Regions, which backed former pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. Both Manafort and Gates generated tens of millions of dollars of income from Ukraine work and laundered money through scores of U.S. and foreign entities to hide payments from American authorities, the indictment said. They concealed from the United States their work and revenue as agents of Ukrainian political parties and used their wealth to lead a "lavish lifestyle" without paying taxes on the income, it said. The indictment said Manafort owned properties in Manhattan; Brooklyn; the Hamptons; Arlington, Virginia, and elsewhere. Prosecutors said Manafort spent almost $1 million on eight rugs in two years and more than $1.3 million on clothes from shops in Beverly Hills, California, and New York City. They also said he had been making payments on four Range Rovers and a Mercedes-Benz. Gates was a longtime business partner of Manafort and has ties to Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. He also served as deputy to Manafort during his brief tenure as Trump's campaign chairman. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer called for the Trump administration to avoid interfering with Mueller's probe. "The rule of law is paramount in America and the investigation must be allowed to proceed unimpeded. The president must not, under any circumstances, interfere with the special counsel’s work in any way," Schumer said.

Two former Trump aides charged in Russia probe, third pleads guilty

A raid on the Virginia home of President Donald Trump&#39;s former 2016 election campaign manager showed an investigation of possible ties between the campaign and Russia is intensifying and focused on the financial dealings of Trump associates, sources familiar with the probe said.

Longtime political consultant and lobbyist Paul Manafort is being investigated for possible money laundering and has been targeted as someone who might testify against former colleagues, said two people familiar with the work of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Manafort&#39;s spokesman Jason Maloni confirmed on Wednesday that the FBI executed a search warrant at one of Manafort&#39;s homes.

&quot;Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well,&quot; Maloni said in an email.

Manafort&#39;s house in Alexandria, near Washington, was raided in the early morning of July 26, the Washington Post reported. The previous day Manafort had met with Senate Intelligence Committee staff, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the probe.

Tax documents and financial records were sought by agents for Mueller in the raid, the New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Mueller&#39;s team is poring over Manafort&#39;s financial and real estate records in New York and his involvement in Ukrainian politics, the two sources told Reuters last month.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called the raid a &quot;highly significant step&quot; and said it was &quot;typical of the most serious criminal investigations dealing with uncooperative or untrusted potential targets.&quot;

The FBI did not immediately return a request for comment. Joshua Stueve, a spokesman for Mueller&#39;s office, declined to confirm the raid.

Trump has been attacking Blumenthal on Twitter this week after the senator urged Mueller to press his inquiry forward.

US&nbsp;intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the presidential race, in part by hacking and releasing emails embarrassing to Trump&#39;s opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, to help him get elected in November.

Trump has called Mueller&#39;s investigation a &quot;witch hunt.&quot; Allegations of collusion between Trump associates and Moscow have hounded the Republican president since he took office in January, presenting a major distraction from his policy agenda.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in the US&nbsp;election.

Finances scrutinised&nbsp;

The Manhattan District Attorney&rsquo;s office has been trying to track money that Manafort used to buy properties in New York, and looking into millions of dollars of loans later taken out on the properties, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The prosecutor issued a subpoena to Federal Savings Bank, a small Chicago bank founded by a former Trump campaign adviser, and is interested in the loan paperwork, the person said.

It is unclear when the subpoena went out, but the first subpoenas in the probe went out months ago, the person said.

Joan Vollero, a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., declined to comment.

Steve Calk, the bank&rsquo;s chairman and CEO, who was named to Trump&rsquo;s economic advisory council during the campaign, declined to comment through a spokeswoman for the bank.

&quot;Mr. Manafort&#39;s real estate loans are all arm&#39;s length transactions at or above market rates,&rdquo; said Maloni. &ldquo;There is nothing unusual about buying real estate through an LLC.&quot;

The New York Attorney General&rsquo;s office also is looking into Manafort&rsquo;s real estate transactions, another person said.

&#39;Paper Trails&#39;

One question for investigators was whether Manafort had knowledge of any Trump campaign dealings with Russia, including meetings with Russians with government ties, said one source familiar with Mueller&#39;s work.

The same question was relevant to investigators in regard to Trump&#39;s fired former national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, the source said.

&quot;Financial matters have paper trails that can be easy to pick up and follow, so that&#39;s a logical place to start,&quot; the source added.

Congressional committees are looking at a June 2016 meeting in New York with a Russian lawyer organised by Trump&#39;s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Trump Jr. released emails last month that showed he welcomed the prospect of receiving damaging information about Clinton. Manafort attended the meeting.

Legal experts noted that the FBI had enough evidence to get approval for a search warrant concerning Manafort.

&quot;Somewhere, there now exists under seal what is likely a very detailed affidavit laying out criminal allegations involving Paul Manafort, and specifically, there is probable cause to believe he has committed a crime or there is evidence of a crime at his home,&quot; said Alex Little, a former federal prosecutor now with the law firm Bone McAllester Norton.

A Senate Judiciary Committee aide said the panel has received more than 20,000 pages of documents from Trump&#39;s presidential campaign, Manafort and Trump Jr.

Spokesperson for Trump's former 2016 election campaign manager, Paul Manafort, confirmed on Wednesday that the FBI executed a search warrant at one of Manafort's homes

A raid on the Virginia home of President Donald Trump's former 2016 election campaign manager showed an investigation of possible ties between the campaign and Russia is intensifying and focused on the financial dealings of Trump associates, sources familiar with the probe said. Longtime political consultant and lobbyist Paul Manafort is being investigated for possible money laundering and has been targeted as someone who might testify against former colleagues, said two people familiar with the work of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort's spokesman Jason Maloni confirmed on Wednesday that the FBI executed a search warrant at one of Manafort's homes. "Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," Maloni said in an email. Manafort's house in Alexandria, near Washington, was raided in the early morning of July 26, the Washington Post reported. The previous day Manafort had met with Senate Intelligence Committee staff, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the probe. Tax documents and financial records were sought by agents for Mueller in the raid, the New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Mueller's team is poring over Manafort's financial and real estate records in New York and his involvement in Ukrainian politics, the two sources told Reuters last month. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called the raid a "highly significant step" and said it was "typical of the most serious criminal investigations dealing with uncooperative or untrusted potential targets." The FBI did not immediately return a request for comment. Joshua Stueve, a spokesman for Mueller's office, declined to confirm the raid. Trump has been attacking Blumenthal on Twitter this week after the senator urged Mueller to press his inquiry forward. US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the presidential race, in part by hacking and releasing emails embarrassing to Trump's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, to help him get elected in November. Trump has called Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt." Allegations of collusion between Trump associates and Moscow have hounded the Republican president since he took office in January, presenting a major distraction from his policy agenda. Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in the US election. Finances scrutinised The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has been trying to track money that Manafort used to buy properties in New York, and looking into millions of dollars of loans later taken out on the properties, according to a person familiar with the matter. The prosecutor issued a subpoena to Federal Savings Bank, a small Chicago bank founded by a former Trump campaign adviser, and is interested in the loan paperwork, the person said. It is unclear when the subpoena went out, but the first subpoenas in the probe went out months ago, the person said. Joan Vollero, a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., declined to comment. Steve Calk, the bank’s chairman and CEO, who was named to Trump’s economic advisory council during the campaign, declined to comment through a spokeswoman for the bank. "Mr. Manafort's real estate loans are all arm's length transactions at or above market rates,” said Maloni. “There is nothing unusual about buying real estate through an LLC." The New York Attorney General’s office also is looking into Manafort’s real estate transactions, another person said. 'Paper Trails' One question for investigators was whether Manafort had knowledge of any Trump campaign dealings with Russia, including meetings with Russians with government ties, said one source familiar with Mueller's work. The same question was relevant to investigators in regard to Trump's fired former national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, the source said. "Financial matters have paper trails that can be easy to pick up and follow, so that's a logical place to start," the source added. Congressional committees are looking at a June 2016 meeting in New York with a Russian lawyer organised by Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Trump Jr. released emails last month that showed he welcomed the prospect of receiving damaging information about Clinton. Manafort attended the meeting. Legal experts noted that the FBI had enough evidence to get approval for a search warrant concerning Manafort. "Somewhere, there now exists under seal what is likely a very detailed affidavit laying out criminal allegations involving Paul Manafort, and specifically, there is probable cause to believe he has committed a crime or there is evidence of a crime at his home," said Alex Little, a former federal prosecutor now with the law firm Bone McAllester Norton. A Senate Judiciary Committee aide said the panel has received more than 20,000 pages of documents from Trump's presidential campaign, Manafort and Trump Jr.

FBI raid on ex-Trump aide's home points towards intensifying Russia probe

The US&nbsp;Senate Judiciary Committee said on Friday President Donald Trump&#39;s eldest son and his former campaign manager have agreed to negotiate whether to be interviewed by the panel in its Russia probe.

The committee said in a statement it would not immediately issue subpoenas requiring Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;and former campaign manager Paul Manafort to testify at a public hearing set for Wednesday &quot;but reserve the right to do so in the future.&quot;

The committee also said it has issued a subpoena for Glenn Simpson, whose firm compiled a dossier on then-candidate Donald Trump during the campaign, to appear at the hearing after he declined to voluntarily attend.

The committee said in a statement it would not immediately issue subpoenas requiring Trump Jr and Manafort to testify at a public hearing set for Wednesday 'but reserve the right to do so in the future'

The US Senate Judiciary Committee said on Friday President Donald Trump's eldest son and his former campaign manager have agreed to negotiate whether to be interviewed by the panel in its Russia probe. The committee said in a statement it would not immediately issue subpoenas requiring Donald Trump Jr and former campaign manager Paul Manafort to testify at a public hearing set for Wednesday "but reserve the right to do so in the future." The committee also said it has issued a subpoena for Glenn Simpson, whose firm compiled a dossier on then-candidate Donald Trump during the campaign, to appear at the hearing after he declined to voluntarily attend.

Trump Jr and Manafort agree to negotiate over interviews by Senate panel

The FBI possesses information indicating&nbsp;associates of US President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the divulging of information damaging to Hillary Clinton&#39;s presidential campaign, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/us-officials-info-suggests-trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians/index.html" target="_blank">CNN </a>reports, citing US officials.

One source told CNN that this is what FBI Director James Comey alluded to when he announced on Monday that not only was the FBI investigating Russian interference in the US election, but the Trump campaign&#39;s ties to Russia.

The information the FBI is now reviewing, CNN reports citing those US officials, includes: human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings.

US officials told CNN this information intelligence was not taken from the leaked dossier of unverified compiled by Christopher Steele, who was hired by Trump&#39;s opponents (first Republicans, then by Democrats), though that dossier also suggested there was coordination between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign.

These officials have cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that the information was not conclusive, though it has raised the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence that &quot;coordination&quot; may have taken place.

&quot;Coordination&quot; is a term Comey described during the Monday&#39;s House Intelligence hearing: He made a distinction between two parties actively working together, and one party manipulating a second party into advancing the first party&#39;s interests without them knowing.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Background: Is there anything else&nbsp;to suggest links between Trump and Russia?

Two days after the US election, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/moscow-had-contacts-with-trump-team-during-campaign-russian-diplomat-says/2016/11/10/28fb82fa-a73d-11e6-9bd6-184ab22d218e_story.html?utm_term=.30420cbf06da" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> reported&nbsp;Russian officials saying they &quot;conferred&quot;&nbsp;with the Trump campaign, saying &quot;there were contacts&quot;, during the election.

&quot;Obviously we know most of the people from his entourage,&quot; said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Trump spokesman Hope Hicks said the campaign&nbsp;had &quot;no contact with Russian officials&quot;.

&nbsp;

Yesterday, an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-22/urgent-manafort-s-plan-to-greatly-benefit-the-putin-government" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> report&nbsp;claimed that Paul Manafort, Trump&#39;s election campaign manager for 143 days, signed a $10 million anual contract&nbsp;in 2006 from a Russian billionaire&nbsp;to advance Russian president&nbsp;Vladimir Putin&#39;s interests.

Manafort <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/paul-manafort-resigns-from-trump-campaign-227197" target="_blank">stepped down</a> from Trump&#39;s campaign after it became known that he lobbied for the pro-Putin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort denies he is&nbsp;linked to Russia.

&nbsp;

As <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/former-trump-advisor-admits-to-innocuous-private-contact-with-russian-dnc-hacker-during-election-13270">WION </a>wrote on March 11, then-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has&nbsp;admitted to having direct contact with both Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and the hacker who hacked the Democrats&#39; emails during the US election Guccifer 2.0, who US intelligence says is really just a front for the Russian military intelligence agency.

On Monday&#39;s <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/20/1645393/-Comey-confirms-that-Russia-used-WikiLeaks-which-Trump-loves-to-release-hacked-information" target="_blank">hearing</a>, FBI Director James Comey said that the Russians hacked the Democrats and used &quot;cutouts&quot;...&quot;to cover up that they were the ones releasing&quot; the stolen information.

Roger Stone <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/20/politics/kfile-roger-stone-wikileaks-claims/" target="_blank">appeared </a>to have advanced knowledge of the contents of the emails WikiLeaks possessed before they were made public. Roger Stone has denied there was anything illegal or improper in this communication.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wikileaks?src=hash">#Wikileaks</a>.
&mdash; Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/782443074874138624">October 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The first time WikiLeaks published Democrat campaign chief John Podesta&#39;s hacked emails came about&nbsp;two hours after the recording of Donald Trump saying he grabbed women &quot;<a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/10/7/13205842/trump-secret-recording-women" target="_blank">by the p*ssy</a>&quot;.

Afterwards, Trump praised WikiLeaks and continued throughout the election to use&nbsp;Podesta&#39;s hacked emails&nbsp;to cudgel Clinton.

During the third presidential debate, Donald Trump spoke directly to Russia, encouraging them to hack his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, saying: &quot;Russia, if you&#39;re listening, I hope you&#39;re able to find the 30,000 [Democrat] emails that are missing.&quot;

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Trump&#39;s pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of the world&#39;s largest publicly traded&nbsp;international oil and gas company ExxonMobil, was personally awarded the &quot;Order of frienship&quot; from Vladimir Putin, given to &quot;reward foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people&quot;. Despite having one of the most sought after jobs in politics anywhere Tillerson has no prior experience in politics.&nbsp;A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/79fecace-0ee2-11e7-b030-768954394623" target="_blank">report </a>yesterday said Tillerson was &quot;stunned&quot; when he was approached for the job, as he was preparing for retirement.

Several members of Trump&#39;s campaign and White House administration have had contacts with Russian officials&nbsp;and lied about it, including: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any Trump-Russia probe after meeting Russian ambassador to the US Sergey&nbsp;Kislyak at least three times despite saying under oath he had never met any Russian officials;&nbsp;National Security Adviser Gen Michael Flynn, who had to resign after he was recorded discussing American sanctions against Russia with Ambassador Kislyak&nbsp;and lying about it, even to Vice President Mike Pence; Carter Page, and JD Gordon.

<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russian-ambassador-sergey-kislyak-meeting-election-campaign-a7617261.html">Donald Trump</a> himself met with Kislyak, and has both denied and admitted to having a relationship with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFgYzf4DV4" target="_blank">Vladimir Putin.</a>

(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

US officials say this after FBI Director Comey announced that the US president is under formal investigation for his links to Russia

The FBI possesses information indicating associates of US President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the divulging of information damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, CNN reports, citing US officials. One source told CNN that this is what FBI Director James Comey alluded to when he announced on Monday that not only was the FBI investigating Russian interference in the US election, but the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. The information the FBI is now reviewing, CNN reports citing those US officials, includes: human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings. US officials told CNN this information intelligence was not taken from the leaked dossier of unverified compiled by Christopher Steele, who was hired by Trump's opponents (first Republicans, then by Democrats), though that dossier also suggested there was coordination between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign. These officials have cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that the information was not conclusive, though it has raised the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence that "coordination" may have taken place. "Coordination" is a term Comey described during the Monday's House Intelligence hearing: He made a distinction between two parties actively working together, and one party manipulating a second party into advancing the first party's interests without them knowing. Background: Is there anything else to suggest links between Trump and Russia? Two days after the US election, the Washington Post reported Russian officials saying they "conferred" with the Trump campaign, saying "there were contacts", during the election. "Obviously we know most of the people from his entourage," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Trump spokesman Hope Hicks said the campaign had "no contact with Russian officials". Yesterday, an Associated Press report claimed that Paul Manafort, Trump's election campaign manager for 143 days, signed a $10 million anual contract in 2006 from a Russian billionaire to advance Russian president Vladimir Putin's interests. Manafort stepped down from Trump's campaign after it became known that he lobbied for the pro-Putin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort denies he is linked to Russia. As WION wrote on March 11, then-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has admitted to having direct contact with both Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and the hacker who hacked the Democrats' emails during the US election Guccifer 2.0, who US intelligence says is really just a front for the Russian military intelligence agency. On Monday's hearing, FBI Director James Comey said that the Russians hacked the Democrats and used "cutouts"..."to cover up that they were the ones releasing" the stolen information. Roger Stone appeared to have advanced knowledge of the contents of the emails WikiLeaks possessed before they were made public. Roger Stone has denied there was anything illegal or improper in this communication. Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #Wikileaks. — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 2, 2016 × The first time WikiLeaks published Democrat campaign chief John Podesta's hacked emails came about two hours after the recording of Donald Trump saying he grabbed women "by the p*ssy". Afterwards, Trump praised WikiLeaks and continued throughout the election to use Podesta's hacked emails to cudgel Clinton. During the third presidential debate, Donald Trump spoke directly to Russia, encouraging them to hack his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, saying: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 [Democrat] emails that are missing." Trump's pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company ExxonMobil, was personally awarded the "Order of frienship" from Vladimir Putin, given to "reward foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people". Despite having one of the most sought after jobs in politics anywhere Tillerson has no prior experience in politics. A report yesterday said Tillerson was "stunned" when he was approached for the job, as he was preparing for retirement. Several members of Trump's campaign and White House administration have had contacts with Russian officials and lied about it, including: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any Trump-Russia probe after meeting Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak at least three times despite saying under oath he had never met any Russian officials; National Security Adviser Gen Michael Flynn, who had to resign after he was recorded discussing American sanctions against Russia with Ambassador Kislyak and lying about it, even to Vice President Mike Pence; Carter Page, and JD Gordon. Donald Trump himself met with Kislyak, and has both denied and admitted to having a relationship with Vladimir Putin. (WION)

New evidence suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with Russian officials: CNN

&nbsp;

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A day after Washington Post revealed that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had spoken to russian ambassador on two separate occasions. Sessions says he would recuse himself from the federal (WION)
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Richard Painter, President George W Bush&#39;s top ethics lawyer, told&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bush-ethics-lawyer-painter-jeff-sessions-perjury-resign-2017-3" target="_blank">Business Insider</a>&nbsp;that he believes US Attorney General Jeff Sessions must resign.

While Painter said it was &quot;debateable&quot; whether or not Sessions perjured himself during his senate confirmation hearing, there is a real possibility that Russia has enough material over him for blackmail, and while &quot;we have no way of knowing if we&#39;re in that situation,&nbsp;he said the possibility was&nbsp;&quot;just way too high a risk&quot;.

Painter said: &quot;The thing with Sessions is that the Russians almost certainly have a recording of these conversations or detailed notes about the conversations...And so, they&#39;ve got something over Sessions. Sessions will be asked what was said in these conversations. And if that doesn&#39;t match what the Russians have in their records...then they&#39;ve got him, and they have this over him for the rest of his term. We have no way of knowing if we&#39;re in that situation, but it&#39;s just way to high a risk.&quot;

&nbsp;

During his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no contact with Russian officials during the campaign. He was asked by Al Franken, the Democratic Senator, what he would do if he learned that someone from the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign.

Sessions responded, &quot;Senator Franken, I&#39;m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I&#39;m unable to comment on it.&quot;

After the&nbsp;Washington Post responded that actually Sessions&nbsp;had two conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in September 2016--while the then-senator was&nbsp;advising&nbsp;Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign and at the height of what&nbsp;US intelligence agencies are <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/02/sessions-s-contact-the-russian-ambassador-a-spy-or-not-a-spy.html" target="_blank">united </a>in saying was a concerted Russian cyber espionage campaign&nbsp;to influence the outcome of the US election--pressure mounted for Sessions to recuse himself from any&nbsp;investigation into Trump&#39;s connection with Russia, and even to resign.

Sessions has since announced that he will <a href="http://US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from any investigations into the alleged Russian interference in 2016 US presidential elections." target="_blank">recuse </a>himself from any such investigation.&nbsp;The investigation into Russia&#39;s connection seeks to determine just how Russia influenced the 2016 presidential election, and Donald Trump&#39;s ties to Russia in general.&nbsp;

Democrats and even some Republicans had called for an indepedent investigator, rather than Sessions.

Trump dismissed the increasing pressure against Sessions, calling it a &quot;witch hunt&quot;.

&nbsp;

So far <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-connection-to-russia-doesnt-end-with-flynn-12478" target="_blank">three&nbsp;people</a> from Trump&#39;s camp have resigned or have been fired once their connection to Russia came to light,&nbsp;including&nbsp;former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, and Trump&#39;s choice to lead national security Michael Flynn.

Donald Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/758071952498159616" target="_blank">tweeted </a>in July 26, 2016: &quot;For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia.&quot;

President Trump&#39;s son, Donald Jr,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/eric-trump-organization-deals-russia-233360" target="_blank">told </a>a real estate conference in 2008:&nbsp;&quot;Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.&quot;

Here is then-Trump adviser Paul&nbsp;Manafort in July of 2016, denying that Trump has any financial connections to Russia:

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MUST WATCH: Paul Manafort doesn&#39;t sound very convincing here. 
 
Interview was July 27, 2016 <a href="https://t.co/N46Y2DOAJX">pic.twitter.com/N46Y2DOAJX</a>
&mdash; Yashar (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/837184121600356352">March 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/russia-kislyak-spy-claim-sessions/" target="_blank">CNN </a>reported that US intelligence believes that the Russian ambassador Sergey Kisylak--who met several people associated with&nbsp;Trump&#39;s camp including:&nbsp;Michael&nbsp;Flynn and&nbsp;Jeff Sessions, and also&nbsp;former&nbsp;adviser <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/carter-page-russian-ambassador-meeting-235626" target="_blank">Carter Page </a>and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-jared-kushner-met-with-russian-1488499538-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jarred Kushner</a>-- is considered to be one of Russia&#39;s top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington. Russia has denied this is true.

Meanwhile, The Indepedent reports that&nbsp;Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 spy who compiled the infamous dossier alleging&nbsp;Russia has blackmail material over Donald Trump, has been approached about testifying in front of the US Senate Intelligence Commitee&#39;s investigation into Trump&#39;s alleged links with Russia.

Trump has dismissed Steele&#39;s allegations, and called him a &quot;failed spy&quot;.

In the past Donald Trump has&nbsp;denied having any connection to&nbsp;Vladimir Putin repeatedly, but&nbsp;has also bragged about his personal relationship with the Russian President.

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Does Donald Trump have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? Allow him to tell you. 
 
Watch this, via <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC">@MSNBC</a>. <a href="https://t.co/FN9ZIHRbi3">pic.twitter.com/FN9ZIHRbi3</a>
&mdash; Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) <a href="https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/837141504451837952">March 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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(WION)

President Bush's ethics officer said Sessions must step down. While unsure if he's been blackmailed, he said it's 'way too big a risk'

A day after Washington Post revealed that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had spoken to russian ambassador on two separate occasions. Sessions says he would recuse himself from the federal (WION) × Richard Painter, President George W Bush's top ethics lawyer, told Business Insider that he believes US Attorney General Jeff Sessions must resign. While Painter said it was "debateable" whether or not Sessions perjured himself during his senate confirmation hearing, there is a real possibility that Russia has enough material over him for blackmail, and while "we have no way of knowing if we're in that situation, he said the possibility was "just way too high a risk". Painter said: "The thing with Sessions is that the Russians almost certainly have a recording of these conversations or detailed notes about the conversations...And so, they've got something over Sessions. Sessions will be asked what was said in these conversations. And if that doesn't match what the Russians have in their records...then they've got him, and they have this over him for the rest of his term. We have no way of knowing if we're in that situation, but it's just way to high a risk." During his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no contact with Russian officials during the campaign. He was asked by Al Franken, the Democratic Senator, what he would do if he learned that someone from the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign. Sessions responded, "Senator Franken, I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it." After the Washington Post responded that actually Sessions had two conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in September 2016--while the then-senator was advising Donald Trump's presidential campaign and at the height of what US intelligence agencies are united in saying was a concerted Russian cyber espionage campaign to influence the outcome of the US election--pressure mounted for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump's connection with Russia, and even to resign. Sessions has since announced that he will recuse himself from any such investigation. The investigation into Russia's connection seeks to determine just how Russia influenced the 2016 presidential election, and Donald Trump's ties to Russia in general. Democrats and even some Republicans had called for an indepedent investigator, rather than Sessions. Trump dismissed the increasing pressure against Sessions, calling it a "witch hunt". So far three people from Trump's camp have resigned or have been fired once their connection to Russia came to light, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, and Trump's choice to lead national security Michael Flynn. Donald Trump tweeted in July 26, 2016: "For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia." President Trump's son, Donald Jr, told a real estate conference in 2008: "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." Here is then-Trump adviser Paul Manafort in July of 2016, denying that Trump has any financial connections to Russia: MUST WATCH: Paul Manafort doesn't sound very convincing here. Interview was July 27, 2016 pic.twitter.com/N46Y2DOAJX — Yashar (@yashar) March 2, 2017 × CNN reported that US intelligence believes that the Russian ambassador Sergey Kisylak--who met several people associated with Trump's camp including: Michael Flynn and Jeff Sessions, and also former adviser Carter Page and Trump's son-in-law Jarred Kushner-- is considered to be one of Russia's top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington. Russia has denied this is true. Meanwhile, The Indepedent reports that Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 spy who compiled the infamous dossier alleging Russia has blackmail material over Donald Trump, has been approached about testifying in front of the US Senate Intelligence Commitee's investigation into Trump's alleged links with Russia. Trump has dismissed Steele's allegations, and called him a "failed spy". In the past Donald Trump has denied having any connection to Vladimir Putin repeatedly, but has also bragged about his personal relationship with the Russian President. Does Donald Trump have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? Allow him to tell you. Watch this, via @MSNBC. pic.twitter.com/FN9ZIHRbi3 — Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 2, 2017 (WION)

Trump-Russia: Sessions may be blackmailed by Kremlin, says former White House chief ethics officer

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating Donald Trump&rsquo;s former campaign manager&rsquo;s foreign business connections, NBC news reported.&nbsp;

Paul Manafort&nbsp;is being investigated for his alleged business ties with Russia and Ukraine, NBC news reported on Monday night. &nbsp;

In August, Politoco reported&nbsp;that Manafort&nbsp;resigned from&nbsp;the Trump campaign amid revelations of his&nbsp;work lobbying for pro-Russian Ukrainian&nbsp;oligarchs, which Politico&nbsp;was at odds with Trump&#39;s claim to be free of moneyed interests.

NBC news further reported that the inquiry is only preliminary and not a criminal investigation.

Manafort told NBC news, &ldquo;None of it is true. There&#39;s no investigation going on by the FBI that I&#39;m aware of.&quot;

&quot;This is all political propaganda, meant to deflect,&quot; he added.

In that August article, Politico&nbsp;reported&nbsp;that a source close to the Trump campaign said the Trump family was particularly troubled by reports that Manafort was involved with Russia, activities which he reportedly&nbsp;hadn&#39;t disclosed.

The same source added that the Trump family was also unhappy about changes made to the Republican platform that were seen as beneficial to Russia, in which they felt Manafort played a role.

The Manafort inquiry comes just days after FBI director James Comey announced a reopened investigation into Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s emails mere days before the November 8 election.&nbsp;

The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/31/james-comey-fbi-clinton-trump-email-investigation-russia-hack">Guardian reports</a> that the Clinton campaign has been especially vocal of late,&nbsp;blasting Comey&#39;s decision as a &quot;jaw-dropping&quot; double standard after claims emerged that he had sought to withhold evidence of Russian support for Donald Trump, out of fear that it could influence the outcome of the US election.

(WION)

Manafort, who denies all,?resigned from?the campaign in August?amid revelations of his?work lobbying for pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarchs

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating Donald Trump’s former campaign manager’s foreign business connections, NBC news reported. Paul Manafort is being investigated for his alleged business ties with Russia and Ukraine, NBC news reported on Monday night. In August, Politoco reported that Manafort resigned from the Trump campaign amid revelations of his work lobbying for pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarchs, which Politico was at odds with Trump's claim to be free of moneyed interests. NBC news further reported that the inquiry is only preliminary and not a criminal investigation. Manafort told NBC news, “None of it is true. There's no investigation going on by the FBI that I'm aware of." "This is all political propaganda, meant to deflect," he added. In that August article, Politico reported that a source close to the Trump campaign said the Trump family was particularly troubled by reports that Manafort was involved with Russia, activities which he reportedly hadn't disclosed. The same source added that the Trump family was also unhappy about changes made to the Republican platform that were seen as beneficial to Russia, in which they felt Manafort played a role. The Manafort inquiry comes just days after FBI director James Comey announced a reopened investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails mere days before the November 8 election. The Guardian reports that the Clinton campaign has been especially vocal of late, blasting Comey's decision as a "jaw-dropping" double standard after claims emerged that he had sought to withhold evidence of Russian support for Donald Trump, out of fear that it could influence the outcome of the US election. (WION)

FBI investigating former Trump campaign manager's ties to Russia

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