Former Trump Campaign Chairman Denies Russia-Related Charges

Paul Manafort, the former chairman of Donald Trump's campaign, who is facing charges in the U.S. court including money laundering and concealment related to his work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and obstruction of FBI investigations, has denied these allegations. Along with Manafort, his associate Rick Gates is also facing similar charges. Both surrendered to the FBI on Tuesday, November 8, and appeared in a Washington court. The court has currently placed both under house arrest, setting bail at $10 million for Manafort and $5 million for Gates. They are facing 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering, acting as an agent of a foreign government without registration, false statements, and several other financial and banking charges. According to court documents, George Papadopoulos, who has been accused of lying to the FBI about his connections with Russia, has accepted the charges. Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy advisor to Trump's campaign who was arrested earlier in July. The formal indictments issued yesterday in the United States are the first of their kind following the appointment of Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating the allegations against Russia regarding interference in the U.S. elections to influence the outcome. Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders stated in a press conference on November 8 that the latest events and indictments have 'no connection to the President, nor to his campaign or its actions.' Ms. Sanders also emphasized that the indictments do not provide any evidence linking the Trump campaign to Russia. Trump himself tweeted the day before that the allegations 'occurred years ago and before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign,' questioning why 'the focus is not on corrupt Hillary and the Democrats' and adding that 'there was no collusion [between the Trump campaign and Russia].' The indictments against Manafort and Gates accuse them of receiving 'tens of millions of dollars' for work done for Yanukovych, who had close ties to Moscow, and related parties. Yanukovych lost his position during the Ukrainian protests and fled to Russia. Manafort and Gates are accused of engaging in bank fraud and money laundering to 'conceal' these payments from U.S. authorities from 2006 to 2016. Court documents indicate that due to 'neglect or false statements,' the accused 'obstructed the FBI's investigation into any relationships or interactions between individuals associated with the campaign and the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.' Senior U.S. intelligence officials stated on January 6 that Russia 'definitely' interfered in the U.S. elections and that its 'cyber attacks' pose a 'significant threat' to the United States. The previous U.S. administration officially accused the Russian government in October of conducting cyber attacks on the websites of political institutions and groups to influence the election results. Robert Mueller has been conducting investigations into these allegations over the past months since becoming the special counsel for the election case. Mr. Mueller is also investigating allegations related to 'obstruction of justice.' Senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have denied accusations of interference in the U.S. elections. Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chairman at the end of August 2016, resigned from his position, reportedly telling Trump that his presence in the campaign was causing ongoing 'distractions' for the Republican nominee. Manafort's resignation followed reports about his role in assisting Yanukovych. The FBI had targeted Manafort's home for inspection in July. Trump's lawyer stated last week to the New York Times that there are no concerns that Manafort might provide damaging information in exchange for a deal to avoid prosecution. Manafort has provided documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee. Reports indicate that these documents include notes from a meeting involving Donald Trump Jr., the son of Donald Trump, with a lawyer linked to Moscow last year. Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton's campaign, along with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and Paul Manafort. Trump Jr. stated that the Russian lawyer's claims were vague and meaningless and it became clear that she had no specific information. In this context, Trump reiterated the absence of 'collusion' between Russia and his campaign, while the White House stated that Trump was unaware of his former campaign manager's activities for the Russians. U.S. media reported that Russian officials had discussed influencing Trump's campaign advisors, and Trump Jr. had met with a 'lawyer connected to Moscow' during the election campaign.