Special counsel Robert Mueller is sending a warning to individuals in US President Donald Trump’s orbit: If they lie about contacts between the president’s campaign and Russians, they’ll end up on the wrong end of federal criminal charges.
Court papers unsealed on Monday have revealed an indictment against Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a guilty plea by another adviser, who admitted to lying to the FBI about meetings with Russian intermediaries.
The guilty plea by George Papadopoulos came weeks ago and he has been cooperating with federal agents.
Manafort and business associate Rick Gates have pleaded not guilty in federal court. They are under house arrest on charges that they funnelled payments through foreign companies and bank accounts as part of their political work in Ukraine.