Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty Friday to reduced federal charges in a "cooperation agreement" deal with prosecutors that will allow him to avoid a second trial scheduled to begin next week.The charges are related to Manafort's Ukrainian political consulting work.Friday's court filing said Manafort's homes in New York City, in the Hamptons and in Virginia, as well as money from his bank accounts and life insurance policies may be seized by the government as part of the deal.As part of the deal, Manafort will cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into possible coordination between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.In the new filing, prosecutors dropped the bulk of the charges against Manafort, filing new paperwork that includes just two counts that resemble in many ways the original allegations made in an indictment last year.The charges were contained in a criminal information document that can only be filed with a defendant's consent and typically signals a deal has been reached. It is totally unrelated.”

Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said: “Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. As part of the deal, Manafort, 69, could be required to cooperate with Mueller’s probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 US presidential election. Last month, a jury in Alexandria, Virginia, convicted Manafort on eight felony charges in a tax- and bank-fraud case also prosecuted by Mueller’s team. Such respect for a brave man!”

According to the court filing, the charge of conspiracy against the United States includes money laundering, tax fraud, failing to disclose foreign bank accounts, and acting as an unregistered lobbyist for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. The planned plea, if accepted by a judge, would short-circuit his second trial scheduled to begin later this month in the District of Columbia on charges of money laundering and lobbying violations.
Former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort agrees to plead guilty in a foreign-lobbying and money laundering case brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort has agreed to cooperate with the investigation.