Manafort pleads not guilty to new charges in Russia probe

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is maintaining his innocence as he faces charges he acted as an unregistered foreign agent and directed an international money-laundering conspiracy.

Paul Manafort’s formal plea of not guilty comes during a brief hearing Wednesday in Washington.

It is his first court appearance since his co-defendant and longtime business associate, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors.

During the hearing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson reprimands Manafort for making a public statement about Gates’s plea. The judge says it violated her gag order. The judge also sets a September 17 trial date for Manafort.

Manafort had previously pleaded not guilty in the case but prosecutors for special counsel Robert Mueller brought a second indictment last week, requiring him to formally enter a second plea.