An independent US federal ethics watchdog called Monday on President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> to take disciplinary action against his own trade adviser, Peter Navarro, for attacking election rivals while in his official government role.

In a letter to the outgoing US leader, Henry Kerner, head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), said that Navarro had repeatedly violated the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch officials from engaging in political activity.

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"From May 26 through October 19, 2020, during at least six media interviews where he appeared in his official capacity as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office on Trade and Manufacturing Policy, Dr Navarro repeatedly attacked presidential candidate Joe Biden and/or vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris," the OSC said in a report dated November 18.&nbsp;

The agency also stressed that Navarro, 71, used his Twitter account on multiple occasions to attack Biden and Harris, who won the November 3 election, targeting in particular their stances on trade ties between the US and China.&nbsp;

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The OSC said that Navarro was aware of the violations and had been notified of the issue as early as July, but had deliberately chosen to ignore the office's calls to order.

Navarro has not yet responded to the agency's charges.

Under US law, he can face disciplinary measures ranging from a fine of up to $1,000 to dismissal from his post.

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It seems unlikely, however, that Trump will choose to punish Navarro before he leaves office on January 20, 2021.

The agency has previously warned Trump about members of his administration violating the Hatch Act, including his former adviser Kellyanne Conway, who suffered no punishment from her ex-boss.

An independent US federal ethics watchdog called Monday on President Donald Trump to take disciplinary action against his own trade adviser, Peter Navarro, for attacking election rivals while in his official government role.

An independent US federal ethics watchdog called Monday on President Donald Trump to take disciplinary action against his own trade adviser, Peter Navarro, for attacking election rivals while in his official government role. In a letter to the outgoing US leader, Henry Kerner, head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), said that Navarro had repeatedly violated the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch officials from engaging in political activity. Also read| Chadwick Boseman, Donald Trump and pop group BTS dominate Twitter in 2020 "From May 26 through October 19, 2020, during at least six media interviews where he appeared in his official capacity as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office on Trade and Manufacturing Policy, Dr Navarro repeatedly attacked presidential candidate Joe Biden and/or vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris," the OSC said in a report dated November 18. The agency also stressed that Navarro, 71, used his Twitter account on multiple occasions to attack Biden and Harris, who won the November 3 election, targeting in particular their stances on trade ties between the US and China. Also read| Neil Young ends copyright suit against Donald Trump The OSC said that Navarro was aware of the violations and had been notified of the issue as early as July, but had deliberately chosen to ignore the office's calls to order. Navarro has not yet responded to the agency's charges. Under US law, he can face disciplinary measures ranging from a fine of up to $1,000 to dismissal from his post. Also read| The places that had the biggest swings toward and against Trump It seems unlikely, however, that Trump will choose to punish Navarro before he leaves office on January 20, 2021. The agency has previously warned Trump about members of his administration violating the Hatch Act, including his former adviser Kellyanne Conway, who suffered no punishment from her ex-boss.

US govt watchdog calls for sanctions on Trump adviser

Prosecutors asked a federal judge on Monday to sentence&nbsp;US&nbsp;President Donald&nbsp;Trump's&nbsp;longtime&nbsp;adviser&nbsp;Roger&nbsp;Stone&nbsp;to between seven and nine&nbsp;years&nbsp;in&nbsp;prison, saying such a&nbsp;term&nbsp;would "accurately reflect the seriousness of his crimes and promote respect for the law."

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Stone&nbsp;is due to face sentencing by&nbsp;US&nbsp;District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on February&nbsp;20, after a jury in November found the self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.

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The government said that under&nbsp;US&nbsp;sentencing guidelines, he faces a range of seven&nbsp;years&nbsp;and three months to up to nine&nbsp;years, and told Jackson he "should be punished in accord" with those.

Stone&nbsp;is one of several people close to Trump who faced charges stemming from then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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During the trial, prosecutors pressed their case that&nbsp;Stone&nbsp;lied to lawmakers about his outreach to WikiLeaks - the website that disclosed many hacked Democratic emails ahead of the 2016&nbsp;US&nbsp;election that proved embarrassing to Trump’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton - to protect Trump from looking bad.

Stone, who has labelled himself an “agent provocateur” and famously has the face of former President Richard Nixon tattooed on his back, was charged with obstructing justice, witness tampering and lying to the&nbsp;US&nbsp;House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russian election interference.

Stone's colourful trial featured references to the film “The Godfather Part II,” an impression of Senator Bernie Sanders by prosecution witness Randy Credico, and testimony by political heavyweights including former Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon and former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates.

Those witnesses said they believed&nbsp;Stone&nbsp;had inside information about when WikiLeaks might release more damaging emails about Clinton. In truth, he had no such information.

Stone&nbsp;was also accused of tampering with Credico's testimony when Credico was summoned to testify before Congress and speak with the FBI. In emails and texts,&nbsp;Stone&nbsp;told Credico among other things: “Prepare to die,” “You’re a rat. A stoolie,” and “Stonewall it.”

Prosecutors asked a federal judge on Monday to sentence US President Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone to between seven and nine years in prison, saying such a term would "accurately reflect the seriousness of his crimes and promote respect for the law.

Prosecutors asked a federal judge on Monday to sentence US President Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone to between seven and nine years in prison, saying such a term would "accurately reflect the seriousness of his crimes and promote respect for the law." Also read: Trump adviser Roger Stone found guilty of lying to Congress, obstruction, witness tampering Stone is due to face sentencing by US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on February 20, after a jury in November found the self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering. Also read: Former Trump adviser Roger Stone arrested after indictment by Robert Mueller The government said that under US sentencing guidelines, he faces a range of seven years and three months to up to nine years, and told Jackson he "should be punished in accord" with those. Stone is one of several people close to Trump who faced charges stemming from then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. × During the trial, prosecutors pressed their case that Stone lied to lawmakers about his outreach to WikiLeaks - the website that disclosed many hacked Democratic emails ahead of the 2016 US election that proved embarrassing to Trump’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton - to protect Trump from looking bad. Stone, who has labelled himself an “agent provocateur” and famously has the face of former President Richard Nixon tattooed on his back, was charged with obstructing justice, witness tampering and lying to the US House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russian election interference. Stone's colourful trial featured references to the film “The Godfather Part II,” an impression of Senator Bernie Sanders by prosecution witness Randy Credico, and testimony by political heavyweights including former Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon and former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates. Those witnesses said they believed Stone had inside information about when WikiLeaks might release more damaging emails about Clinton. In truth, he had no such information. Stone was also accused of tampering with Credico's testimony when Credico was summoned to testify before Congress and speak with the FBI. In emails and texts, Stone told Credico among other things: “Prepare to die,” “You’re a rat. A stoolie,” and “Stonewall it.”

US seeks prison term of 7-9 years for Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone

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

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US govt watchdog calls for sanctions on Trump adviser

US seeks prison term of 7-9 years for Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone

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