Manafort Strikes Deal with Special Counsel Ahead of D.C. Trial

Paul Manafort has reached a deal with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to plead guilty ahead of his criminal trial in Washington, D.C., where he was slated to appear Friday. Manafort’s reported guilty plea comes a month after an Eastern Virginia jury found him guilty on eight charges related to tax evasion and bank loan fraud in August. The former Trump campaign chairman is a crucial link in Mueller’s probe to uncover any illicit dealings between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Manafort was one of three Trump campaign officials — along with the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and his son-in-law Jared Kushner — who met with Russian nationals in June 2016 after they had been promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. Manafort’s lawyers and the special counsel are expected to announce the plea deal at an 11 a.m. preliminary hearing Friday. A superseding criminal information against Manafort, 69, was filed Friday alleging a conspiracy against the United States (money laundering, tax fraud, failing to file Foreign Bank Account Reports, violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and lying and misrepresenting to the Department of Justice) and a conspiracy to obstruct justice (witness tampering). Watch: ‘President Did Nothing Wrong,’ Sanders Says Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.