Manafort has countersued Mueller, accusing the former FBI director of going far beyond his Justice Department mandate in the probe. But the charges Gates ultimately pleaded guilty to on Friday were one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in relation to not reporting offshore banking accounts, and one count of lying over his work as a foreign agent for Ukraine. That was similar to deals offered to two other ex-advisors to Trump, who have also pleaded guilty to reduced charges. Former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn and former campaign foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos have each pleaded guilty to one count of lying. And on Tuesday, a London-based lawyer with links to Russia and to Gates pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents.

Source: The Express Tribune February 24, 2018 06:00 UTC