Dramatically escalating the pressure and stakes, special counsel Robert Mueller filed additional criminal charges Thursday against U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman and his business associate. The filing adds allegations of tax evasion and bank fraud and significantly increases the legal jeopardy facing Paul Manafort, who managed Trump's campaign for several months in 2016, and longtime associate Rick Gates. Manafort and Gates, who also worked on Trump's campaign, both pleaded not guilty after that indictment. The charges against Manafort and Gates don't relate to any allegations of misconduct related to Trump's campaign, though Mueller is continuing to investigate potential ties to the Kremlin. Flurry of indictmentsMueller was appointed in May to investigate potential co-ordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Source: CBC News February 22, 2018 22:09 UTC