Mueller adds tax-evasion charges against former Trump campaign chairman Manafort
In this Nov. 6, 2017 photo, Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, leaves the federal courthouse in Washington. Manafort has sued special counsel Robert Mueller saying he exceeded authority in the Russia probe. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON >> Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors filed additional charges today against President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a business associate.
The charges are contained in a new indictment brought by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va.
The new indictment, which had been expected, adds allegations of tax evasion and increases the amount of money Manafort is accused of laundering through offshore accounts to $30 million. The additional charges involve much of the same conduct Manafort and his longtime associate, Rick Gates, were charged with last year in an indictment in Washington.
The new indictment comes a week after Mueller filed charges against 13 Russians, accusing them of a vast conspiracy to undermine the U.S. presidential election.
The charges against Manafort and Gates don’t relate to any allegations of misconduct related to Trump’s campaign. They are accused of directing a covert Washington lobbying campaign on behalf of pro-Russian Ukrainian interests.
Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty after they were initially charged last October.
