Paul Manafort, Who Once Ran Trump Campaign, Surrenders to FBI

By Bill Chappell, NPR News

30 October 17

aul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman, has been indicted on federal charges that range from conspiracy against the United States to conspiracy to launder money.

Manafort, 68, surrendered himself to federal law enforcement authorities on Monday morning, a Justice Department source tells NPR's Ryan Lucas, representing a new phase of the investigations into figures from Trump's inner circle.

Both Manafort and Rick Gates, his former deputy, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday, according to a news release from the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Gates is 45 years old.

From a Justice Department statement:

"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."

The grand jury's indictment was unsealed on Monday morning, shortly after Manafort was seen entering an FBI field office.

Manafort was taken into federal custody days after news emerged that a federal grand jury assembled by Mueller had voted to indict a figure in Mueller's investigation into possible coordination between Russia and people close to the Trump campaign in last year's presidential election.

In addition to the main focus on Russia's efforts to tamper with the U.S. democratic process, Mueller's mandate also allows his team to probe any other criminal matters that arise during the course of its investigation.

FBI agents raided Manafort's home in Alexandria, Va., over the summer; weeks earlier, he and Gates had registered with the U.S. government as foreign agents.

Manafort resigned from the Trump campaign after revelations that he made more than $17 million in two years while working for the pro-Russia political party that once controlled Ukraine's government.

If you need a recap of recent developments in the Russia investigations, NPR's Philip Ewing covers the developments, discussing claims and counter-claims — such as word that the "Trump campaign data firm's guru tried to link up with Wikileaks and that [Hillary] Clinton, DNC helped pay for infamous dossier on Trump."