Paul Manafort placed under house arrest
President Donald Trump's former campaign manager surrendered today to the FBI
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another former aide Rick Gates has been placed under house arrest and had their passports confiscated after an appearance at a Washington DC court.
Both men pleaded not guilty to a series of charges in a 12-count, 31-page indictment, ranging from money laundering to acting as unregistered agents of Ukraine's former pro-Russian government.
If convicted Mr Manafort could face up to 80 years in prison and Mr Gates up to 70, with the charge of money laundering carrying a maximum 20-year sentence on its own.
The pair could also face fines of $10,000 for each of the foreign agent reporting counts and up to a $500,000 fine each and property forfeiture.
The document also stated that $75m (£57m) went in and out of offshore accounts controlled by the pair.
Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who has been investigating possible collusion between campaign team members and Russian officials during the 2016 US election since May 2017, had also asked for bond to be set at $10m (£7.6m) for Mr Manafort and $5m (£3.8) for Mr Gates.
George Papadapoulos, a former campaign aide who White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred to as only a “volunteer” on the foreign policy team, pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents working for special counsel Mr Mueller as well
He said he lied to FBI agents about the nature of his interactions with "foreign nationals" who he thought had close connections to senior Russian government officials, specifically a “niece” of Russian
President Vladimir Putin, a Russian professor, and an associate of Donald Trump Jr’s who claimed to have “dirt” on Ms Clinton.
He is the first person to face criminal charges that cite interactions between Trump campaign associates and Russian intermediaries during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments