PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was taken into custody Monday [10-30-17] on charges that he laundered more than $18 million in funds from his work for a pro-Russia party in Ukraine through offshore accounts.
In a separate plea deal in court documents that were unsealed Monday, George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy adviser to the Trump campaign, admitted to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about his contacts with a professor connected to Russian government officials.
The actions Monday mark the first charges by Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading a wide-ranging probe on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mr. Mueller, a former FBI director, also has been investigating whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice in his firing earlier this year of James Comey as FBI director, and the business dealings of several former Trump aides, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Mueller was appointed to the special counsel role just after the president’s firing of Mr. Comey.”
-Aruna Viswanatha and Del Quentin Wilber, “Former Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Charged in Russia Probe,” The Wall Street Journal online, Oct. 30, 2017 12:29pm