text: A man who communicated with former Trump campaign adviser Richard Gates has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI in special counsel Robert Mueller Robert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE's probe into Russian election interference. 
   
   Attorney Alex Van Der Zwaan was charged with making “materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations” to the special counsel’s office and FBI agents, according to a court filing released Tuesday morning. 
   
   He entered a guilty plea on Tuesday afternoon. 
   
   Van Der Zwaan allegedly lied about his last communications with Gates and then deleted emails requested by the special counsel’s office, according to the indictment. 
   
   He allegedly did so as part of his work for a firm hired by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice to prepare a report on the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister of Ukraine. 
   
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   The new charges come as Gates is reportedly nearing a plea deal with Mueller that could lead to his testimony against Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortTrump slams NSA for deleting call records, calls it a ‘disgrace’ Manafort's assistant gave FBI access to evidence in storage locker: report Federal judge agrees nonpartisan commission beats special counsel MORE, President Trump Donald John TrumpChelsea Handler issues July 4 apology to world: 'We’re sorry about our president' US pork producers prepare for steep tariffs: 'I don't want to be the patriot who dies at the end of the war' ACLU membership grew from 400,000 to 1.84 million after Trump was elected: report MORE's former campaign chairman. 
   
   Gates was Manafort's business partner. Mueller indicted Gates and Manafort together last year, accusing them of working together over the years to launder money, among other crimes. 
   
   The pair had worked for lobbying clients overseas, including Viktor Yanukovych, a former president of Ukraine allied with Russia. 
   
   Van Der Zwaan is accused of making false statements to the FBI about a report that he helped the Ukraine's Justice Ministry prepare in 2012 on the trial of a Ukrainian politician named Yulia Tymoshenko. 
   
   The charges appear to be related to a report produced by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom that helped the Ukrainian government counter international criticism that the 2011 prosecution and conviction of Tymoshenko had been driven by political aims. 
   
   Van Der Zwaan was an associate in Skadden's London office, according to reports. The law firm told CNBC in a statement that it "terminated its employment of Alex van der Zwaan in 2017 and has been cooperating with authorities in connection with this matter." 
   
   The New York Times reported last year that the law firm's report was arranged by Manafort as part of his work for Yanukovych. 
   
   According to the document released Tuesday, Van Der Zwaan lied when he told investigators that his last communication with Gates was in mid-August 2016, and that his last communication with an individual identified only as “Person A” was in 2014, at which point the two “discussed Person A’s family.” 
   
   The document states that Van Der Zwaan actually spoke with Gates and “Person A” regarding a report on the trial and “surreptitiously recorded the calls.” It also says that he deleted or did not produce emails to the special counsel’s office, including a September 2016 correspondence between him and “Person A.” 
   
   —Last updated at 4:26 p.m. ||||| President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump disembark Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Associated Press) 
   
   President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump disembark Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Associated Press) 
   
   WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Russia probe (all times local): 
   
   9:35 a.m. 
   
   Special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors have filed a new charge against a man they say lied to federal investigators in the Russia probe. 
   
   A charging document filed in federal court in Washington on Tuesday accuses Alex Van Der Zwaan of one charge of making false statements. The information was filed ahead of a plea hearing scheduled for later Tuesday. 
   
   The court filing says that Van Der Zwaan lied to investigators about his interactions with Rick Gates. Gates, a former Trump campaign aide, was indicted last year on charges of conspiracy to launder money and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. 
   
   Mueller is investigating Russian election interference and links between the Trump campaign and Russia. 
   
   ___ 
   
   8:36 a.m. 
   
   President Donald Trump is again accusing his predecessor of not doing enough to prevent Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. 
   
   Trump tweets that's because President Barack Obama "thought Crooked Hillary was going to win and he didn't want to 'rock the boat.'" But Trump says when he won "the whole game changed and the Russian excuse became the narrative of the Dems." 
   
   Trump's tweet Tuesday included a quote from Obama saying in October 2016 that "there is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America's elections." Obama was addressing Trump's claims of voter fraud, not Russia's attempt to influence voters on social media. 
   
   Obama has defended his response to Russian meddling, saying he had told the Russian president to "cut it out."
target: – More Robert Mueller moves: Prosecutors have charged an attorney they say lied to federal investigators in the Russia probe, reports the Hill. A document filed in federal court in Washington Tuesday accuses Alex Van Der Zwaan of one charge of making false statements, per the AP. The information was filed ahead of a plea hearing scheduled for later Tuesday. The court filing says Van Der Zwaan lied to investigators about his interactions with Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide who was indicted last year on charges of conspiracy to launder money and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Gates is reportedly planning to plead guilty and testify against former campaign chief Paul Manafort.