Former Trump Campaign Manager Surrenders to FBI

Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Donald Trump, the President of the United States, surrendered to officials at the FBI's office in Washington, D.C. on Monday, November 8. According to reports, Manafort is facing charges including 'conspiracy against the United States, tax fraud, and money laundering.' Meanwhile, Rick Gates, Manafort's associate, has also turned himself in to the FBI. Both are facing charges related to the investigation into Russian interference in last year's U.S. presidential election. Manafort and his associate were identified by reporters as they entered the FBI building. He is the first individual to be summoned since Robert Mueller, the former FBI director, was appointed to investigate the Russian interference case. Manafort was selected by the U.S. Department of Justice on May 27. U.S. media reported on Sunday, November 7, that the first arrest in the investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election was likely to occur within the next day, by Monday. Manafort served as Trump's campaign manager from June to August 2016. He later resigned due to reports of receiving illegal millions from the pro-Russian party 'Regions' led by Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine. Previously, the President of the United States expressed an angry reaction on Twitter to the official investigations regarding the alleged connections of his campaign with Russia. Trump has consistently dismissed these allegations as baseless and has directed attacks towards Hillary Clinton, his electoral rival. In this context, last week he tweeted criticizing that Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded the production of false news about Russian interference against him, stating that the President is the victim here. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has also denied allegations of interference in the U.S. elections. Meanwhile, Robert Mueller is conducting investigations into allegations related to 'obstruction of justice.' Senior U.S. intelligence officials stated on January 6 that Russia 'undoubtedly' interfered in the U.S. elections and that its 'cyber attacks' pose a 'major threat' to the United States. The U.S. government officially accused the Russian government in October of conducting cyber attacks on the websites of institutions and political groups to influence the election outcome.