"Highly conflicted Bob Mueller & the 17 Angry Democrats are using this Phony issue to hurt us in the Midterms. No Collusion!" President Donald Trump tweeted. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo White House Trump launches first broadside at Mueller after Manafort plea deal President Donald Trump on Saturday fired his first salvo against special counsel Robert Mueller since former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort entered a plea deal with the Russia probe's federal prosecutors. "While my (our) poll numbers are good, with the Economy being the best ever, if it weren’t for the Rigged Russian Witch Hunt, they would be 25 points higher!" Trump tweeted. "Highly conflicted Bob Mueller & the 17 Angry Democrats are using this Phony issue to hurt us in the Midterms. No Collusion!" Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani also broke his silence on Manafort's intended guilty plea earlier Saturday, alleging in a tweet that "sources close to" Manafort's defense team told the former New York mayor that the cooperation agreement "does not involve the Trump campaign" and that there was "no collusion with Russia" from within the Trump campaign. Giuliani added: "Another road travelled by Mueller. Same conclusion: no evidence of collusion President did nothing wrong." News of Manafort's plea deal came Friday, just days before the longtime GOP operative was due to appear in a Washington, D.C., courtroom to face charges of foreign lobbying and money laundering. Manafort was previously found guilty of eight counts of bank and tax fraud in a separate trial that took place in Virginia last month. Friday’s plea agreement said Manafort "shall cooperate fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly with the Government and other law enforcement authorities identified by the Government in any and all matters to which the Government deems the cooperation relevant.” Trump's tweet Saturday also comes as the president is facing a slate of polls showing his popularity on the downswing weeks before the midterm elections.<doc-sep>✕ Close Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleads guilty 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. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan.<doc-sep>We just heard what may be the five most frightening words for President Trump yet: “He’s agreed to fully cooperate.” That’s what Kevin Downing, the lead lawyer for Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort, told reporters outside a Washington courthouse on Friday when he announced that Manafort had agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation as part of a plea deal. That’s a potentially catastrophic outcome for the president. Here’s why: As Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains, legal experts “have long speculated that the special counsel’s main aim in charging Manafort with financial and lobbying crimes was to pressure him to ‘flip’ — so he’d agree to provide information related to their true concern of whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere with the election.” There is at least one area in particular that Manafort may be able to provide important information about: the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Manafort also took part in that meeting, and will therefore be able to provide Mueller’s investigators with a first-hand account of what went on behind closed doors that day. He’s also the first attendee at the meeting to work with Mueller. But that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg. Manafort also had close contact with two Russians during the campaign: Oleg Deripaska and Konstantin Kilimnik. Deripaska, a notorious Russian oligarch, was once Manafort’s client. And Kilimnik was formerly Manafort’s longtime business associate — and possibly has ties to Russian intelligence. And that’s just what the public already knows. It’s entirely possible Mueller knows even more about interactions between the Trump campaign and Russia. Which means that at best, Manafort will be able to help Mueller corroborate details about the Trump Tower meeting — and whether Trump knew about it in advance. At worst, Manafort may be able to provide Mueller with a wealth of new and potentially damaging information about the campaign’s ties to Russia. Either way, this is certainly one of the worst days for Trump yet when it comes to the Mueller probe.<doc-sep>
Paul Manafort, who once headed President Donald Trump's campaign, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy charges and has agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigations. Manafort's plea deal with Mueller dramatically ramps up the legal and political danger already facing Trump, who is being eyed by the special counsel for possible obstruction of justice. The deal came three days before the scheduled start of jury selection in U.S. District Court in Washington for Manafort's second trial. It also came several weeks after Trump blasted the practice of "flipping" — prosecutors getting defendants to cooperate against other people by offering them a plea deal — and said the commonly used tactic "almost ought to be illegal." Prosecutors said the Manafort's own deal, which will require him to forfeit an estimated $46 million in assets, includes a 17-page cooperation agreement with Mueller in which he will help the special counsel cooperate "in any and all matter as to which the government deems the cooperation relevant." Specificially, Manafort must participate in interviews with investigators, provide documents and testify, if needed. The guilty plea by Manafort, 69, relates to money earned from consulting work on behalf of pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine and predate his tenure as chairman of Trump's presidential campaign. However, during his time on the campaign, he participated in a controversial meeting with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, with a Russian lawyer who supposedly had negative information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Mueller is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion by members of Trump's campaign in that effort. Mueller is also looking into whether Trump obstructed justice in an effort to influence the Russia probe. The special counsel previously obtained guilty pleas to crimes from Trump's ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn, campaign advisor George Papadopoulos and former Trump campaign official Rick Gates, who was a Manafort associate. Last month, Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to charges brought by federal prosecutors in New York. Those included tax crimes and a campaign finance charge related to the $130,000 hush-money payment Cohen said he gave to porn star Stormy Daniels at Trump's behest to keep her quiet about an affair she says she had with the president, who denies that tryst occurred. A courtroom sketch showing Paul Manafort agreeing to a guilty plea on Sept. 14th, 2018. Artist: Art Lien "This had absolutely nothing to do with the President or his victorious 2016 Presidential campaign," said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as the plea hearing was still going on. "It is totally unrelated." Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer for the Russia probe, said: "Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign." "The reason: the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth," Giuliani said. Within minutes of Giuliani issuing that statement, another Trump lawyer, Jay Sekulow, sent a "corrected statement" to reporters that said the same thing but omitted the words "and Paul Manafort will tell the truth." Manafort, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and purple tie, admitted guilt to revised charges of just two counts of conspiracy, which will effectively consolidate and resolve the two criminal cases against him in Washington and in Virginia federal courts. The two charges are conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice by witness tampering. The first count relates to a wide array of underlying criminal conduct. "Is what the prosecution said true?" Judge Amy Berman Jackson asked Manafort. "I did. It is," Manafort replied. The judge then asked, "Are you ready to tell me if you plead guilty?" "I am. I plead guilty," Manafort replied. After the plea hearing in the E. Barrett Prettyman courthouse, Manafort's defense lawyer Kevin Downing told reporters it was a "tough day for Mr. Manafort, but he's accepted responsibility, and he wanted to make sure that his family was able to remain safe and live a good life." "He has accepted responsibility, and this is for conduct that dates back many years, and everybody should remember that," Downing said. No sentencing date was set for Manafort, who faces up to 10 years in prison, but who would likely get much less time behind bars than that. He also faces fines of up to $500,000 when sentenced. He will not be sentenced until his cooperation with Mueller is completed.