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Yesterday, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort agreed to a plea deal with Special Counsel Mueller to avoid his upcoming trial on charges of fraud and failing to register as a foreign agent.
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The New York Times is now reporting that the plea deal is a guilty plea that crucially does include a cooperation agreement with the Special Counsel’s investigation. Unfortunately, NPR is reporting that this does not include any matters relating to the 2016 election investigation.
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Paul Manafort's cooperation agreement with the special counsel does not include matters involving the Trump campaign, according to a person familiar with the case, @johnson_carrie reports
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) September 14, 2018
Manafort has been charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He will have to forfeit four of his homes and the money Manafort squirreled away in hidden bank accounts across the world. In exchange, prosecutors dropped five money laundering charges and violations of a lobbying disclosure law.
Manafort is under indictment for his failure to register as a lobbyist under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for his work lobbying for Russia’s Ukranian puppet leader, Viktor Yanukovych, and his United Regions party.
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Last month, Manafort was convicted of 8 out of 18 financial crimes, most of them centered around his efforts to evade taxes on the $75 million dollars he received doing shady lobbying work for Yanukovych and his Russian patrons.
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After fifteen months of investigation, Mueller’s team has obtained guilty pleas and cooperation agreements from disgraced National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, campaign manager Paul Manafort, campaign advisor Rick Gates, Trump Organization lawyer Michael Cohen, and foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos.
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The White House has already issued a response, as has presidential lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who curiously immediately amended his statement to remove the phrase “Manafort will tell the truth.”
Statement from @PressSec on Paul Manafort’s plea deal and cooperation agreement: “This had absolutely nothing to do with the President or his victorious 2016 Presidential campaign. It is totally unrelated.”
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) September 14, 2018
NEW: Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani on Manafort: "Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. The reason: the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.” https://t.co/I07uCEa5JX pic.twitter.com/8BO9G6SCdG
— ABC News (@ABC) September 14, 2018
NEW: Rudy Giuliani has changed his statement on Manafort.
He first said Manafort will tell the truth. Now he omits that from the statement.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) September 14, 2018
Original reporting by Sharon LaFraniere at the New York Times
