Prosecutor files charges against a lawyer for lying to the FBI
Manafort, who led Trump's election campaign between May and August 2016, had to resign after it was discovered he had concealed from the authorities a payment of 12.7 million dollars he received for advising Ukrainian former president Viktor Yanukovych (2010-2014), linked to Russia. Once Manafort resigned, Gates continued to participate in the Trump campaign and became part of the team that prepared the transition once the magnate won the election in November. Since May 2017, Robert Mueller holds the position of special prosecutor and is in charge of investigating possible links between members of the president's campaign and the Russian government, which the US intelligence agencies accuse of interfering in the 2016 elections. The position of special prosecutor is independent of the Government, which ensures the neutrality of the investigation.
Special prosecutor Robert Mueller, charged with investigating the Russian plot, announced new charges Tuesday against Alex Van Der Zwaan, a lawyer for a prestigious New York firm that he accuses of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).According to Mueller's indictment, the defendant had contacts with Rick Gates, who was "number two" in the campaign of the current president, Donald Trump, and who is accused of several charges, including money laundering, within the investigation. of the Russian plot.
The indictment also clarifies that Van Der Zwaan "deliberately made materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to both the FBI and the special prosecutor's office Mueller when questioned on November 3, 2017.He allegedly lied about a report he prepared for the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine with the aim of preparing a trial that had former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko as its protagonist, who since May 2010 had to face several legal proceedings against him.In particular, according to Mueller, the defendant lied about the contacts he had had about the report with Rick Gates.
The defendant did not reveal that the last time he had communicated with Gates by telephone was in August 2016 and he did not say that they met in person for the last time in 2014.In October of 2017, Rick Gates turned himself into the FBI and pleaded not guilty to the 12 charges against him, although he is now considering collaborating with the Justice and pleading guilty, as local media have revealed in recent days.Gates, 45, whose name was almost unknown until Mueller filed the charges against him, was the protege of Paul Manafort, who was the head of Trump's election campaign between May and August 2016.Both Gates and Manafort are accused of creating a "network of entities and bank accounts" in different countries to hide up to $ 75 million that they obtained from the pro-Russian government of Ukraine and other Russian oligarchs, which they helped, for example, to improve his image in the United States.