Manafort charged again, White House weighs Russia sanctions

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Special Counsel Robert Mueller has filed new criminal charges against President Donald Trump's former senior campaign aides Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.

The Trump administration is considering new sanctions against Russia, meanwhile, pushing back against criticism that it has been slow to respond to alleged election meddling and a cyber attack.

Manafort, Gates charged again

The latest charges against Manafort and Gates include allegations of wrongdoing as recently as January 2017.

The indictment alleges that the men were desperate for cash when their lobbying business dried up, after pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich was forced to flee to Russia after being ousted from power.

Rick Gates, former deputy campaign manager for Donald Trump, walks to his vehicle after a status conference at the US Courthouse in Washington, DC, US, December 11, 2017. /VCG Photo

It details alleged efforts by the two men to dupe banks into lending them money, using money from secret offshore accounts to enjoy a life of luxury and lying on their tax returns.

The indictment charges that they were able to secure more than 20 million US dollars in loans by falsely inflating the income of Manafort and his lobbying firm and failing to disclose existing debt. Altogether, the indictment says 75 million US dollars flowed through offshore accounts and that 30 million US dollars was laundered.

Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman for US President Donald Trump, departs after a bond hearing as part of the Mueller investigation, at US District Court in Washington, US, December 11, 2017. /VCG Photo

The men were among the first to be charged as part of Mueller's ongoing investigation into whether the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

The latest charges do not mention their work for the Trump campaign, but could escalate pressure on them to make a deal with prosecutors and cooperate in the probe.

New sanctions on Russia?

The Trump administration is weighing new sanctions against Russia, senior officials have claimed.

Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress, which voted for a new sanctions bill against Russia last summer, have criticized President Donald Trump for not punishing Moscow and accused him of being soft on Vladimir Putin. The Trump administration in January decided not to announce sanctions against Russia under the new law.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump /VCG Photo

In a briefing to reporters, three senior administration officials involved in sanctions work described a process that is slow moving for legal reasons and cannot be accelerated in response to negative headlines.

The officials said some sanctions have already been imposed against two Russian entities – Concord Catering and Concord Management and Consulting – cited last week in a 37-page indictment from Mueller about Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

The indictment said the firms controlled the Internet Research Agency, a group that coordinated the meddling. Sanctions were imposed on them in June related to Russia's actions in Ukraine.

The business center Lakhta-2, which reportedly houses news organizations and Internet research companies known for trolling on social media, in St. Petersburg, Russia, February 20, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The officials said they are also looking ahead to the potential for tampering in the 2018 midterm congressional elections in November.

"The process on sanctions is long; it's arduous; it’s not pretty, but when the evidence is there and we're ready, we go ahead with the sanctions," one official said.

The officials said there is an active review under way on how to respond to last week's designation of Russia as responsible for the "NotPetya" cyber attack last year.

Mueller to interview Nunberg

Mueller was expected to interview former Trump aide Nunberg on Thursday. Nunberg started working for then-businessman Trump in 2011, making him one of his earliest political advisers, but he was fired from the campaign in August 2015.

The interview comes about a week after investigators questioned Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon. Nunberg is thought to be close to Bannon and is also an associate of Trump's ally and longtime political consultant Roger Stone.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing members of the US Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 21, 2017. /VCG Photo‍

Nunberg was dismissed months into the presidential campaign after Business Insider reported that he had written racially-charged Facebook posts in 2007. He said he did not remember writing them and apologized.

Trump later sued Nunberg seeking damages of 10 million US dollars, saying the former aide had broken a confidentiality agreement. The lawsuit was settled in August 2016 and the one-page filing in a New York court did not provide details of the terms.

Mueller has so far charged several Trump associates and more than a dozen Russians. Russia denies the allegations of election meddling and Trump says there was no collusion between Moscow and his campaign.

(With input from agencies)

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