Charges ‘may pressure Manafort to co-operate’

Thecharges announced yesterday against Paul Manafort, a former campaignmanager to President Donald Trump, as part of a US probe into Russianmeddling in the 2016 election, include money laundering as well as thelesser-known offence of conspiracy against the United States.Theindictment was the first released by Justice Department special counselRobert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian efforts to tiltlast year’s vote in Trump’s favour.The Kremlin denies meddling. Trump denies colluding with the Russians.Whileneither Trump nor his campaign is mentioned in the indictment, Muellercould be aiming to pressure Manafort and his associate Rick Gates, whois also charged, to cooperate in the larger collusion probe.Formerfederal prosecutor Renato Mariotti voiced surprise at the number ofcharges as well as the detailed nature of the indictment, saying: “If Iwere 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.Thefirst count in the indictment against Manafort and Gates is a commonfederal charge, mainly because it can target a wide range of conduct andcan be tacked on to other charges.Charges of conspiracy against theUnited States, which carry a maximum sentence of five years, have beenbrought against Al Qaeda militants for planning attacks as well asindividuals accused of fraud against the government.In January theDepartment of Justice charged Volkswagen AG executives with conspiringto defraud the United States by cheating on US emissions tests.Thecharge against Manafort and Gates is related to their alleged failuresto report their overseas financial holdings and to report that they wereworking 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.Moneylaundering takes place when a person conducts a financial transactioninvolving the proceeds of a crime with the purpose of concealing detailsof that crime.The money laundering case stems from allegations theywere illegally working as unregistered lobbyists for the pro-RussianYanukovich government.They are accused of using multiple offshoreaccounts and entities to finance their work. Manafort also allegedlyused untaxed money from those accounts to buy several income-generatingNew York apartments for his own benefit.Most of the counts againstManafort and Gates involve their alleged failure to report foreign bankaccounts to the tax-collecting US Internal Revenue Service. Each chargecarries a maximum five-year sentence.They are also charged withfailing to register with the US Department of Justice as agents ofYanukovich and making false statements about their work. Those countsare punishable by up to five years in prison.Neither Trump nor hiscampaign is mentioned in the indictment and many of the charges, some ofwhich go back more than a decade, appear related to Manafort’s work forUkraine’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.“Generallyspeaking, the criminal justice system runs off of co-operation,” saidNew York criminal defense lawyer Greg Morvillo, “meaning often thegovernment will arrest one or two people, and see if they can get thosepeople to flip and assist the government in prosecuting other people whothe government has concluded committed a crime”.Joyce Vance, aformer federal prosecutor who is now a professor at the University ofAlabama School of Law, said the indictment sends a message to Manafortthat “he needs to cooperate and plead guilty”.“The indictment ofGates may also send a message to Manafort, because even if Manafortdoesn’t cooperate, Gates probably will,” she said.Former Trumpcampaign worker George Papadopoulos’ guilty plea, announced by Muelleryesterday, may be unrelated, but lawyers said the timing sent a messagethat 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.Papadopoulosis charged with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about theextent and nature of his relationships and interactions with foreignnationals associated with the Russian government.His conduct, whichis punishable by up to five years in prison, does not appear tointersect with that described in the Manafort indictment.Formerfederal prosecutor Patrick Cotter suggested: “It was to head off anyarguments that the case against Manafort and Gates is not about Russia.”Cotteradded: “What they’re saying is, ‘We’ve got Papadopoulos in the bag andhe knows about Russia.’ They’re saying, ‘There’ll be more. We’recoming.’”