Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort will cooperate with prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation after pleading guilty to two charges to avoid a second criminal trial.
The charges include conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
As part of a plea deal, the rest of the charges in the Washington DC case, as well as the deadlocked charges from a previous case in Virginia will be dropped at the time of sentencing ot upon "completion of cooperation" prosecutors have said.
The allegations do not involve his work with the Trump campaign. It is not clear whether any agreement with prosecutors would require him to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Manafort was facing a second trial set to begin on Monday on charges related to Ukrainian political consulting work, including failing to register as a foreign agent.
It's unclear how the possible deal might affect Manafort's pursuit of a pardon from President Donald Trump. The president has signalled that he's sympathetic to Manafort's cause, and in comments to Politico, his attorney-spokesman Rudy Giuliani said a plea without a cooperation agreement wouldn't foreclose the possibility of a pardon.
Manafort is already facing eight to 10 years in prison after being convicted in Virginia on eight counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts relating to $16m (£12m) laundered through shell companies overseas.
As the former campaign chairman is expected in court later today, you can follow live updates below.
Live Updates
The charges include conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
No word on that yet.
Manafort's decision could be a blow to Mr Trump, who last month praised his former aide for not entering into an agreement with prosecutors, as the president's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen had in separate case.
Writing on Twitter on 22 August, the president said: "Unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' - make up stories in order to get a 'deal. Such respect for a brave man!"
A Virginia jury convicted Manafort last month on bank and tax fraud charges.
Jury selection was due to begin on Monday in a second trial on charges including conspiring to launder money, conspiring to defraud the United States, failing to register as a foreign agent and witness tampering.
Manafort is expected to forfeit some of his property once a guilty plea is entered.
United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful governmental functions of a government agency, namely the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury, and to commit offenses against the United States, to wit, (a) money laundering (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956); (b) tax fraud (in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1)); (c) failing to file Foreign Bank Account Reports (in violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5312 and 5322(b)); (d) violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (in violation of 22 U.S.C. §§ 612, 618(a)(1), and 618(a)(2));
33 and (e) lying and misrepresenting to the Department of Justice (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a) and 22 U.S.C. §§ 612 and 618(a)(2))
MANAFORT, JR., together with others, including Konstantin Kilimnik, knowingly and
intentionally conspired to corruptly persuade another person, to wit: Persons D1 and D2, with intent to influence, delay and prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(1).
White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders has released a brief statement on Manafort’s deal:
“This had absolutely nothing to do with the President or his victorious 2016 Presidential campaign. It is totally unrelated.”
The charges against Manafort are related to his Ukrainian consulting work — not Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which is the central issue in the special counsel's investigation.
Friday's move gives Mr Mueller another successful conviction while allowing Manafort to avoid facing another costly public trial.
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