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Special counsel Robert Mueller filed criminal charges Monday against Manafort and his associate Rick Gates, the Times said.
Mueller was assigned in May to investigate whether any Trump associates participated in a Russian government effort to influence last year’s presidential election.
But the 12-count indictment does not mention the election — it describes Manafort’s lobbying work in Ukraine and a scheme to hide millions of dollars related to that work in a money-laundering scheme, the New York Times said.
Manafort is a native of New Britain, where his late father was a longtime mayor and where he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The family is also known for its construction business in town, Manafort Brothers Inc.
Manafort and Gates face charges including conspiracy against the United States, money laundering $75 million, and failure to register as a foreign agent.
“We know today that the Trump presidential campaign was run by a Russian foreign agent now charged with conspiring against the United States," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). "This indictment is a sober, shattering moment and a major step toward answers and accountability for the American people.
"The President now owes the American people a serious explanation of his decision to hire Manafort and his own knowledge of this conspiracy. As this investigation moves forward into its next critical stage, Special Counsel Mueller must be protected against any political interference. The Senate Judiciary Committee must move forward with public hearings, and witnesses under oath to examine the full extent of Russian interference in our elections and how the Trump Administration may have thwarted the work of the FBI,” Blumenthal said.
“This historic step is the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end.”
Click here for the story at the New York Times.
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