Former Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Has Been Indicted By Robert Mueller’s Russia Investigation

After news of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s first indictments broke late Friday, the first charges to stem from the ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia came to light Monday morning. According to the New York Times, Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, and Rick Gates, an ex-business associate of Manafort’s, were ordered to surrender to federal authorities.

The precise charges levied against Manafort and Gates were not “immediately clear.” Yet the duo’s arrests presents the first clear effects of the five-month-long investigation into whether or not members of Trump’s campaign staff knowingly colluded with Russian officials, or persons affiliated with Russia’s established efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Manafort and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn were suspected by many to be the investigation’s first charges, but Gates’ name was also floated as a possibility.

As a result, local and national press were already waiting outside Manafort’s condo in Alexandria, Virginia early Monday morning.

According to CNN, Manafort would be turning himself in directly to Mueller following the official order to surrender. Gates’s whereabouts, however, are currently unknown as the Times was unable to contact him at first.

However, ABC News subsequently confirmed both Manafort and Gates would be surrendering federal authorities in Washington D.C. on Monday.

UPDATE — 8:15am ET: Less than half an hour after news broke of the indictments against Manafort and Gates, CNN spotted the former walking into the front door of the FBI building in Washington with counsel. Per anchor Chris Cuomo, this “shows that this negotiation went pretty well.”

UPDATE — 8:25am ET: Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports the charges against Manafort — which, along with Gates’s, are still sealed — include tax fraud.

UPDATE — 9:05am ET: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office officially unsealed the 31-page indictment against Manafort and Gates, which includes a total of 12 charges. According to the release, the charges include “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.”

UPDATE — 9:45am ET: As various outlets begin pouring over the 31-page indictment against Manafort and Gates, several eye-catching details have begun popping out. For example, there’s the fact that the ex-Trump campaign manager “spent $934,350 at an antique rug store in Alexandria.”

What’s more, per the charges timeline suggested by the indictment, the “conspiracy against the United States” count includes time during and after the Trump campaign.

https://twitter.com/tjhansen/status/924993341347061761

UPDATE – 3:55pm EST: Manafort and Gates have been placed under house arrest due to the “nature of the charges and their seriousness.” Manafort’s considered to be a flight risk, as he could serve up to 181 months in prison if convicted (while Gates could serve up to 151 months). Further, Manafort’s bond was set at $10 million (while Gates’ bond was set at $5 million). Both men surrendered their passports, although neither party had to put up collateral before going on house arrest.

(Via New York Times and Wall Street Journal)