The
charges announced yesterday against Paul Manafort, a former campaign
manager to President Donald Trump, as part of a US probe into Russian
meddling in the 2016 election, include money laundering as well as the
lesser-known offence of conspiracy against the United States.
The
indictment was the first released by Justice Department special counsel
Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian efforts to tilt
last year’s vote in Trump’s favour.
The Kremlin denies meddling. Trump denies colluding with the Russians.
While
neither Trump nor his campaign is mentioned in the indictment, Mueller
could be aiming to pressure Manafort and his associate Rick Gates, who
is also charged, to cooperate in the larger collusion probe.
Former
federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti voiced surprise at the number of
charges as well as the detailed nature of the indictment, saying: “If I
were the defence lawyer, I’d be looking into co-operating.”
Here are the major charges against Manafort and Gates, the alleged conduct involved and the maximum sentences.
The
first count in the indictment against Manafort and Gates is a common
federal charge, mainly because it can target a wide range of conduct and
can be tacked on to other charges.
Charges of conspiracy against the
United States, which carry a maximum sentence of five years, have been
brought against Al Qaeda militants for planning attacks as well as
individuals accused of fraud against the government.
In January the
Department of Justice charged Volkswagen AG executives with conspiring
to defraud the United States by cheating on US emissions tests.
The
charge against Manafort and Gates is related to their alleged failures
to report their overseas financial holdings and to report that they were
working on behalf of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.
This second count carries a maximum 20-year sentence, the greatest penalty among the charges leveled against Manafort and Gates.
Money
laundering takes place when a person conducts a financial transaction
involving the proceeds of a crime with the purpose of concealing details
of that crime.
The money laundering case stems from allegations they
were illegally working as unregistered lobbyists for the pro-Russian
Yanukovich government.
They are accused of using multiple offshore
accounts and entities to finance their work. Manafort also allegedly
used untaxed money from those accounts to buy several income-generating
New York apartments for his own benefit.
Most of the counts against
Manafort and Gates involve their alleged failure to report foreign bank
accounts to the tax-collecting US Internal Revenue Service. Each charge
carries a maximum five-year sentence.
They are also charged with
failing to register with the US Department of Justice as agents of
Yanukovich and making false statements about their work. Those counts
are punishable by up to five years in prison.
Neither Trump nor his
campaign is mentioned in the indictment and many of the charges, some of
which go back more than a decade, appear related to Manafort’s work for
Ukraine’s pro-Russian government and political figures there.
But Mueller could be using the indictment to pressure Manafort and Gates to co-operate in the larger collusion probe.
“Generally
speaking, the criminal justice system runs off of co-operation,” said
New York criminal defense lawyer Greg Morvillo, “meaning often the
government will arrest one or two people, and see if they can get those
people to flip and assist the government in prosecuting other people who
the government has concluded committed a crime”.
Joyce Vance, a
former federal prosecutor who is now a professor at the University of
Alabama School of Law, said the indictment sends a message to Manafort
that “he needs to cooperate and plead guilty”.
“The indictment of
Gates may also send a message to Manafort, because even if Manafort
doesn’t cooperate, Gates probably will,” she said.
Former Trump
campaign worker George Papadopoulos’ guilty plea, announced by Mueller
yesterday, may be unrelated, but lawyers said the timing sent a message
that the US federal investigation was far from over.
The court documents in the Papadopoulos case are the first out of the Mueller probe to tie Moscow to the campaign.
Papadopoulos
is charged with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the
extent and nature of his relationships and interactions with foreign
nationals associated with the Russian government.
His conduct, which
is punishable by up to five years in prison, does not appear to
intersect with that described in the Manafort indictment.
Former
federal prosecutor Patrick Cotter suggested: “It was to head off any
arguments that the case against Manafort and Gates is not about Russia.”
Cotter
added: “What they’re saying is, ‘We’ve got Papadopoulos in the bag and
he knows about Russia.’ They’re saying, ‘There’ll be more. We’re
coming.’”
Paul Manafort arrives at the US Federal Court House.