News Alert: Paul Manafort and Rick Gates charged: Manafort turns self into FBI in D.C.

By Publisher Editor Jeff Brown

Updated 11:45 am October 30, 2017.

Monday morning, October 30, 2017, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort turned himself into the FBI in Washington D.C. after he and Rick Gates, who was a former Trump campaign official, were charged with conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money and making false statements.

Speculation is that others will also be charged in the coming days and weeks.

Updated 11:45 am October 30, 2017.

Here is a summary of the 12 charges against Manafort and Gates from Quartz.com 

Count one: Conspiracy against the US.

The two, “together with others,” knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud the US by impeding, impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful functions” of the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury.

Count two: Conspiracy to launder money.

The two “knowingly and intentionally” transferred money to and through the US, with the “intent to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity.”

Count three through six: Paul Manafort failed to report his foreign bank accounts with the US Treasury from 2011 through 2014.

Count seven through nine: Richard Gates failed to report his foreign bank accounts with the US Treasury from 2011 through 2013.

Count ten: Unregistered agent of a FARA principal.

Both Gates and Manafort failed to register as lobbyists of a foreign agent, as required under the Foreign Agent Registration Act first passed in 1938, the indictment says.

Count 11: False and misleading FARA statements.

Both Manafort and Gates lied in statements made to the Attorney General about lobbying for foreign agents, the indictment says. These include false statements about “meeting or conducting outreach to US government officials,” and false claims that their work on behalf of Yanukovych’s party did not include “meeting or outreach in the US.”

The two also claimed that they could not turn over email correspondence linked to a partnership they formed, because it “does not retain communications beyond 30 days.”

Count 12: False and misleading statements.

The two lied repeatedly to the DOJ, the count says, in statements submitted in Nov. 2016 and February 2017. In addition, they also had other people “falsify, conceal, and cover up, by a scheme and device a material fact,” make “false, fictitious and fraudulent statements,” and use “false writing” and documents.