A longtime business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was indicted Friday on charges he conspired to obstruct justice as investigators probed a past secret lobbying scheme on behalf of Ukraine.
Konstantin Kilimnik was charged in a superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. The new charges revolve around allegations that he and Manafort tried to influence two potential witnesses in a case involving the failure to register as foreign lobbyists.
Those accusations are part of a recent effort by the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to revoke or revise Manafort’s bail conditions while he awaits trial next month in northern Virginia. A hearing on the bail issue is scheduled for next week. The indictment also charges Manafort with obstruction and conspiring to obstruct justice.
How many Trump associates will wind up in jail before Republicans stop saying this whole investigation is a big nothingburger, I wonder?
* Franklin Foer has all the background you need on Konstantin Kilimnik.
* Ellen Nakashima and Paul Sonne report that the Chinese cyberwarfare effort seem to be going well:
Chinese government hackers have compromised the computers of a Navy contractor, stealing massive amounts of highly sensitive data related to undersea warfare — including secret plans to develop a supersonic anti-ship missile for use on U.S. submarines by 2020, according to American officials.
The breaches occurred in January and February, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The hackers targeted a contractor who works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, a military organization headquartered in Newport, R.I., that conducts research and development for submarines and underwater weaponry.
By the time they get to use this, all our wars will be fought by robots anyway.
* Trump said today he may support a bill that would allow states to set their own course on marijuana without federal interference. Of course, Trump’s word is worth virtually nothing, but still.
* A new Quinnipiac poll finds that 70 percent of American voters say Trump should not fire Robert Mueller, and 50 percent say his investigation is fair, though they are more closely divided on whether the probe of collusion is legit.
* Alex Pareene argues that by pointlessly sticking with Senator Robert Menendez, Democrats are ceding the opportunity to make corruption a campaign issue.
* Michael Biesecker and Ellen Knickmeyer report that Democrats are demanding a criminal investigation into Scott Pruitt.
* And Michael Kruse examines Donald Trump’s strange fatalism, which is an odd quality in a president.