Trump's former campaign manager under house arrest, another ex-aide pleads guilty to lying in Russia probe

In this July 17, 2016 file photo, President Donald Trump's Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort is surrounded by reporters on the floor of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Rick Gates, a former business associate to Manafort and former campaign aide to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, is left center. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON: Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, was charged on Monday with money laundering and another onetime aide pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, in a sharp escalation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller鈥檚 investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.
Manafort, 68, a longtime Republican operative, and associate Rick Gates were arraigned at a federal courthouse in Washington.
Both men pleaded not guilty to a series of charges in a 12-count indictment, ranging from money laundering to acting as unregistered agents of Ukraine's former pro-Russian government.
The judge hearing the case subsequently ordered that Manafort and Gates be placed under house arrest.
Neither Trump nor his campaign were mentioned in the indictment against the pair. Many of the charges, some of which go back more than a decade, have to do with Manafort's work for Ukraine rather than the Trump campaign.
George Papadopoulos, a former adviser to Trump, admitted that he lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russians. The guilty plea marked the first criminal count that cites interactions between Trump campaign associates and Russian intermediaries during the campaign.
The charges ushered Mueller鈥檚 sprawling investigation into a new phase with felony charges and possible prison sentences for key members of the Trump campaign.
Trump quickly tweeted that the alleged misdeeds by his former campaign chairman were 鈥測ears ago,鈥� and he insisted there was 鈥淣O COLLUSION鈥� between his campaign and Russia.
He added, as he has a number of times recently, 鈥淲hy aren鈥檛 Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????鈥�
Papadopoulos鈥� plea occurred on Oct. 5 and was unsealed Monday. In court papers, he admitted lying about the nature of his interactions with 鈥渇oreign nationals鈥� who he thought had close connections to senior Russian government officials
Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents working for special counsel Mueller about his dealings with several Russians who were offering 鈥渄irt鈥� on Trump鈥檚 Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
The separate charges against Manafort and Rick Gates contend the men acted as unregistered foreign agents for Ukrainian interests. The indictments also include several other financial counts involving tens of millions of dollars routed through offshore accounts.
Manafort鈥檚 indictment doesn鈥檛 reference the Trump campaign or make any allegations about coordination between the Kremlin and the president鈥檚 aides to influence the outcome of the election in Trump鈥檚 favor. The indictment does allege a criminal conspiracy was continuing through February of this year, after Trump had taken office.
The indictment filed in federal court in Washington accused both men of funneling payments through foreign companies and bank accounts as part of their political work in Ukraine. Manafort and Gates surrendered to federal authorities Monday, and were expected in court later in the day to face charges brought by Mueller鈥檚 team.
The indictment lays out 12 counts including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, acting as an unregistered foreign agent, making false statements and several charges related to failing to report foreign bank and financial accounts. The indictment alleges the men moved money through hidden bank accounts in Cyprus, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Seychelles.
In total, more than $75 million flowed through the offshore accounts, according to the indictment. Manafort is accused of laundering more than $18 million.
A spokesman for Manafort did not immediately return calls or text messages requesting comment. Manafort and Gates have previously denied any wrongdoing.
Manafort, 68, was fired as Trump鈥檚 campaign chairman in August 2016 after word surfaced that he had orchestrated a covert lobbying operation on behalf of pro-Russian interests in Ukraine. The indictments against Manafort and Gates were largely based on activities disclosed in August 2016 by The Associated Press, which reported that the pair had directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine鈥檚 ruling political party.
Citing internal emails, the AP noted that Gates personally directed the work of two prominent Washington lobbying firms. The indictment quotes from some of the same emails the AP had obtained.
The indictment accuses Manafort and Gates of orchestrating a nearly decade-long conspiracy to covertly work for Ukrainian interests and launder millions of dollars through offshore accounts. Specifically, the indictment accuses Manafort of using 鈥渉is hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the United States, without paying taxes on that income.鈥� That included using offshore accounts to purchase multimillion-dollar properties in the US, some of which the government is seeking to seize.
Mueller was appointed as special counsel in May to lead the Justice Department鈥檚 investigation into whether the Kremlin worked with associates of the Trump campaign to tip the presidential election.
The appointment came one week after the firing of James Comey, who as FBI director led the investigation, and also followed the recusal months earlier of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from the probe.
Mueller鈥檚 investigators have focused on Manafort for months. In July, they raided one of his homes in Virginia, searching for tax and international banking records.
Manafort joined Trump鈥檚 campaign in March 2016 and oversaw the convention delegate strategy. Trump pushed him out in August amid a steady stream of negative headlines about Manafort鈥檚 foreign consulting work.
Trump鈥檚 middle son, Eric Trump, said in an interview at the time that his father was concerned that questions about Manafort鈥檚 past were taking attention away from the billionaire鈥檚 presidential bid.
Manafort has been a subject of a longstanding FBI investigation into his dealings in Ukraine and work for the country鈥檚 former president, Viktor Yanukovych. That investigation was incorporated into Mueller鈥檚 broader probe.
Previously, he denied any wrongdoing related to his Ukrainian work, saying through a spokesman that it 鈥渨as totally open and appropriate.鈥�
Manafort also recently registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for parts of Ukrainian work that occurred in Washington. The filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act came retroactively, a tacit acknowledgment that he operated in Washington in violation of the federal transparency law.
Mueller鈥檚 investigation has also reached into the White House, as he examines the circumstances of Comey鈥檚 firing. Investigators have requested extensive documents from the White House about key actions since Trump took office and have interviewed multiple current and former officials.
Mueller鈥檚 grand jury has also heard testimony about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower attended by a Russian lawyer as well as Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., and the president鈥檚 son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
In Gates, Mueller brings in not just Manafort鈥檚 chief deputy, but a key player from Trump鈥檚 campaign who survived past Manafort鈥檚 ouster last summer. As of two weeks ago, Gates was still working for Tom Barrack, a Trump confidant, helping with the closeout of the inauguration committee鈥檚 campaign account.
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Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker, Stephen Braun, Tom LoBianco and Jeff Horwitz contributed to this report.