JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Money laundering, tax evasion, acting as a foreign agent, now witness tampering. Special counsel Robert Mueller has turned up the heat on Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, threatening new criminal charges and asking a judge to put him in jail while he awaits trial…The Justice Department appointed Mueller a year ago to investigate Russia’s attempts to meddle in the 2016 election and find out whether any of Trump’s associates tried to help. He also was given authority to prosecute anyone who tried to obstruct his investigation or intimidate witnesses. So far, 19 people and three Russian companies have either been indicted or pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Among them is Manafort, who is awaiting trial in Virginia and the District of Columbia. His spokesman says Manafort is innocent. Prosecutors say Manafort acted as an unregistered foreign agent for pro-Russian Ukrainian interests and funneled millions of dollars from the work into offshore accounts to fund lavish lifestyles. Facing numerous charges of tax and bank fraud, Manafort was confined to house arrest and could spend the rest of his life in jail if convicted.”
-Anne Flaherty, “What to know about the latest twist in the Russia probe,” The Associated Press, June 5, 2018