UpdateEx-chief of Trump campaign Paul Manafort pleads not guilty after Russia probe leads to first indictments

Former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and an ex-business associate, Rick Gates, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy against the United States, money laundering and several other financial charges. Separately, Trump’s former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians, special counsel Robert Mueller said on Monday.

The charges were the first stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into possible ties between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. The indictment filed in federal court in Washington accused both Manafort and Gates of funnelling tens of millions of dollars in payments through foreign companies and bank accounts.

The guilty plea by Trump’s former campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos marked the first criminal count that cites interactions between Trump campaign associates and Russian intermediaries during the campaign. The developments ushered Mueller’s sprawling investigation into a new phase with felony charges and possible prison sentences for key members of the Trump team.

Court papers also revealed that Papadopoulos was told about the Russians possessing “dirt” on Democrat Hillary Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails” on April 26, 2016, well before it became public that the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails had been hacked.

Papadopoulos has been cooperating with investigators, according to court papers, a potentially ominous sign for others in the Trump orbit who might be implicated by his statements.