Trump aide under house arrest as part of Russia probe

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On Monday, as the investigation into Russia's manipulation of the 2016 election shifted to a new and more perilous stage for the White House, Donald Trump's former campaign chairman was placed under house arrest.

After the first wave of indictments were unsealed, Paul Manafort and another Trump aide appeared in court, pleading not guilty to conspiracy against the United States, money laundering and several other charges.

The pair was released on bails of 10 million and 5 million US dollars respectively and placed under house arrest.

Separately, another former Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Kremlin-related contacts.

The unsealed indictments were an explosive opening salvo from special FBI investigator Robert Mueller, after months of speculation, spin and obfuscation about possible Trump campaign collusion with Moscow.

A combination photo of former Trump 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort (L) and Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign official are shown in Washington, US, October 30, 2017. /Reuters Photo

While falling short of providing a smoking gun for top-level conspiracy, the charges point to a potential pattern of top Trump associates looking to Russia and its proxies for political and economic gain.

Manafort, 68, and Rick Gates, 45, were charged with allegedly hiding millions of dollars gleaned from work with Ukrainian politician Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Moscow political party.

Papadopoulos, a former Trump foreign policy advisor, admitted he tried to hide contacts with a Moscow-linked professor who was offering "dirt" on Trump's election rival Clinton.

The revelations prompted a furious and defiant reaction from Trump, who dismissed allegations of collusion and called on election rival Hillary Clinton to be investigated.

"Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????" Trump tweeted. "....Also, there is NO COLLUSION!"

Trump gives a thumbs up as campaign official Rick Gates (2nd L) looks on during Trump's walk through at the republican National Convention in Cleveland, July 2016. /Reuters Photo‍

But the charges signal a dramatic new phase in Mueller's investigation, one that holds grave peril for the Trump presidency.

Papadopoulos also revealed that he informed Trump and others personally that he could organize a meeting between the then candidate and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The ex-advisor told the FBI that he had been instructed by an unnamed "campaign supervisor" to meet Russian officials "off the record" if "feasible."

His contacts with Russian sources came to include Russian President Vladimir Putin's niece and the Russian ambassador in London.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested Trump did not recall "specific details of the meeting" and that Papadopoulos had only a limited role.

"It was extremely limited; it was a volunteer position. And again, no activity was ever done in an official capacity on behalf of the campaign in that regard."

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Putin ordered a vast influence campaign to help Trump win election, including the hack and release of Democratic Party and Clinton campaign emails.

Source(s): AFP