New charges filed against former Donald Trump aides

NEW sealed criminal charges have been filed in US federal court in the criminal case brought by special counsel Robert Mueller against President Donald Trump’s former senior campaign aides Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, a court record seen by Reuters shows.

The single page, filed at the US District Court for the District of Columbia, does not shed light on the nature of the new charges. Its inclusion in a binder in the court clerk’s office that is routinely updated with new criminal charges signals that Mueller’s office has filed a superseding indictment replacing a previous one from last year.

Mr Manafort, who was Mr Trump’s campaign manager for almost five months in 2016, and Mr Gates, who was deputy campaign manager, were indicted by Mr Mueller’s office in October.

They face charges including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud the US and failure to file as foreign agents for lobbying work they did on behalf of the pro-Russian Ukrainian Party of Regions. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Last Friday, Mr Mueller’s office revealed in a court filing that it had uncovered “additional criminal conduct” by Mr Manafort in connection with a series of “bank frauds and bank fraud conspiracies” related to a mortgage on his Fairfax, Virginia property.

The special counsel’s office declined to comment on the new court filing, and lawyers for Mr Manafort and Mr Gates could not be immediately reached for comment. A spokesman for Mr Manafort declined to comment.

Mr Mueller is probing Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, whether Mr Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia and whether the Republican president has unlawfully sought to obstruct the investigation. Russia denies the allegations and Mr Trump denies any collusion.