Ex-Trump campaign chief indicted for ‘conspiracy against US’ in Russia probe

US President Donald Trump’s former campaign chief Paul Manafort and his junior partner Robert Gates were indicted Monday in a DC court on multiple counts by federal authorities including “conspiracy against the United States” and money laundering.

The two, who surrendered earlier in the day to federal authorities, are the first to be charged in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. Manafort was seen arriving at the FBI’s field office in Washington, DC.

Gates’s name appeared on documents for companies established by Manafort in Cyprus for receiving money from his clients, according to The New York Times, which was the first to break the story.

Manafort has been under investigation for tax fraud and money laundering, and for failing to disclose his lobbying on behalf of foreign politicians and businesses.

“The indictment contains 12 counts: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts,” a statement from the Department of Justice read.

In Gates, Mueller brings in not just Manafort’s chief deputy, but a key player from Trump’s campaign who survived Manafort’s 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’s campaign account.

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Paul Manafort is seen entering the FBI field office in Washington, DC.

Washington on Monday was anxiously awaiting news of a possible first arrest in the sweeping probe, after CNN and other media outlets reported at least person had been charged by a grand jury.

Trump, in a rapid burst of tweets on Sunday, denounced the investigation as a “witch hunt” and repeated denials that his White House campaign colluded with Russia.

Mueller’s team has remained publicly silent about reports that the first arrest would come as early as Monday. He is empowered to pursue not only Russian interference but any other crimes his prosecutors should uncover.

Chris Christie, a Republican governor close to Trump, said Sunday on ABC that “the important thing about today for the American people to know is the president is not under investigation. And no one has told him that he is.”

It was unclear the New Jersey governor would know whether Trump is being investigated; he may have been referring to earlier comments by former FBI chief James Comey. But Christie, a former US attorney, told CNN that anyone who has been advised by Mueller’s office that they are a target of the inquiry “should be concerned.”

Speculation had focused on former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Manafort, both of whom were once involved in undeclared lobbying for foreign interests.

Buzzfeed reported Sunday the FBI is probing a series of wire transfers linked to Manafort that saw offshore companies move more than $3 million between 2012 and 2013. Flagged as suspicious by US financial institutions, some of the 13 transfers Buzzfeed obtained details of involved wires of large sums from Ukraine.

According to the news site, federal law enforcement was aware of such transfers as far back as 2012, when they began investigating whether Manafort committed tax fraud or helped the Ukrainian regime — at the time close to Russian leader Vladimir Putin — launder money.

With the Mueller investigation nearing a dramatic new phase, Republican officials and conservative media have increased attacks on Democrats — especially Trump’s former rival Hillary Clinton — which opponents dismissed as blatant attempts to divert attention.

‘So much GUILT’

Trump, in his tweets Sunday, again complained of Clinton’s handling of emails while secretary of state, of Democratic Party funding of what he said was a “fake” dossier on Trump’s background, and of a US sale during the Obama administration of uranium rights to Russia.

“There is so much GUILT by Democrats/Clinton, and now the facts are pouring out. DO SOMETHING!” Trump tweeted.

His mention of the “fake” dossier appeared to refer to revelations that the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee had funded part of the research by a former British intelligence agent into possible links between Trump, his collaborators and Russia.

In the uranium case, Russian nuclear energy agency Rosatom sought in 2010 to buy a share in Toronto-based Uranium One, which has mining stakes in the United States. A panel of nine US government agencies, including the State Department, approved the sale, though Clinton says she was “not personally involved.”

White House lawyer Ty Cobb asserted that Trump’s latest tweets were “unrelated to the activities of the Special Counsel, with whom he continues to cooperate,” news media reported.