Washington : A former top adviser to President Donald Trump’s election campaign pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and false-statements charges in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
The plea by Rick Gates revealed that he is planning to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as it continues to probe the Trump campaign, Russian election interference and Gates’ longtime business associate, Paul Manafort. Gates, 45, of Richmond, Virginia, made the plea at the federal courthouse in Washington. He admitted to charges accusing him of conspiring against the U.S. government related to fraud and unregistered foreign lobbying as well as lying to federal authorities in a recent interview, reports AP.
With his cooperation, Gates gives Mueller a witness willing to provide information on Manafort about his finances and political consulting work in Ukraine, and also someone who had access at the highest levels of the Trump campaign.