简体中文
Former Donald Trump campaign aide Rick Gates pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as false statements on Friday in the ongoing Trump-Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Muller, according to a court filing reveal earlier the day.
Gates is now the third Trump associate to plead guilty in the investigation, after former presidential campaign aide George Papadopoulos and former National Security adviser Michael Flynn.
The 45-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, appeared at the federal courthouse in Washington for a plea agreement hearing Friday afternoon. The offenses could possibly lead to up to 57 to 71 months in prison.
A day after Gates and Manafort's new charges in Virginia
Gates' plea comes a day after he and his longtime business associate, Paul Manafort, were indicted in Virginia on new charges of tax evasion and bank fraud. Manafort was the former chairman of the 2016 US presidential campaign.
Dec. 11, 2017: Former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort arrives at the Prettyman Federal Courthouse for a hearing in Washington, DC.
The pair were accused of laundering 30 million US dollars, failing to pay taxes for nearly 10 years and using their real estate to fraudulently secure millions of dollars in loans, according to a 32-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Virginia on Thursday.
Thursday's indictment was the second round of charges against Gates and Manafort. The two were charged last October with money laundering, conspiracy and other offenses in a federal court in Washington.
Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
Manafort: I am innocent
In a statement following Gates' decision, Manafort said that he continues to maintain his "innocence" and Gates' plea would not alter his commitment to defend himself against "the untrue piled up charges."
"I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence," he said. "For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise."
The former chief has been pressured to speak with prosecutors about what he knows about the campaign.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
