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Politics

New charges filed against former Trump campaign associates

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2018-02-23 13:15Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping ECNS App Download

Special counsel Robert Mueller filed a new indictment Thursday against U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign aides, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.

The new indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, in the state of Virginia, includes new allegations of tax evasion and bank fraud against Manafort, the former Trump campaign chief, and Gates, a former campaign aide.

They were among the first to be charged, as part of a Mueller-led investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

The pair were charged last October with money laundering, conspiracy and other offenses in a federal court in Washington. They pleaded not guilty to those charges, which were also filed by Mueller.

The new indictment comes a week after Mueller sought charges against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities, accusing them of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

According to the 32-count indictment, prosecutors alleged that Manafort and Gates laundered 30 million U.S. dollars, failed to pay taxes for nearly 10 years and used their real estate to fraudulently secure over 20 million dollars in loans.

They "hid the existence and ownership of the foreign companies and bank accounts," the indictment said.

But neither the October indictment, nor the additional charges, include allegations of collusion with Russia as part of the Trump campaign. Those charges are related to money from their lobbying work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

Analysts said that Thursday's indictment is part of Mueller's effort to step up pressure on Manafort and Gates to cooperate with the collusion case as they prepare for trial later this year.

Trump has repeatedly denied allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russians while describing the Russia probe as a "hoax" and a "witch hunt."

Russia has denied meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

  

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