Manafort indicted by federal grand jury as part of Russia probe
Mack McLarty, former chief of staff under President Clinton, and Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst, on Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates being asked to surrender to federal authorities as part of the special counsel investigation.
Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump, and a former business associate were indicted on 12 counts by a federal grand jury on Monday.
According to the Special Counsel’s Office, the indictment includes: “Conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.”
Manafort and Gates, who acted as “unregistered agents” of Ukraine’s government between at least 2006 and 2015, generated tens of millions of dollars in income from their work in the European country, according to the indictment. It also said the two hid Ukraine payments from authorities in the U.S. from approximately 2006 through at least 2016 by laundering money through “scores” of U.S. and foreign bank accounts, corporations and partnerships.
More than $75,000,000 flowed through the offshore accounts, with Manafort laundering more than $18,000,000 used to buy property, goods and services in the U.S., while hiding the income from the U.S. Treasury and Department of Justice.
“Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the United States, without paying taxes on that income,” the indictment read.
The two men are the first to be charged as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into claims that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. In late July, federal agents raided Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Va. to obtain documents and other materials related to the investigation.
On Monday morning, Manafort, along with his attorney, arrived at an FBI field office.
Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, issued a statement regarding the news of the indictment.
“This underscores the seriousness of the investigation into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. It’s time for Republicans to commit to protecting this investigation and preserving the rule of law.”