Politics
Who’s been charged by Mueller in the Russia probe so far?
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election is ongoing.
So far, four Americans — Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Richard Gates and George Papadopoulos — have been charged, though none of the charges are directly related to misconduct by President Trump’s campaign. Additionally, more than a dozen Russian nationals have been indicted.
You can read more about their ties to the president, his campaign and the charges below.
Michael Flynn
Michael Flynn, who served as Trump’s national security adviser for less than a month before resigning, was charged and pleaded guilty in December 2017 to making false statements to the FBI.
Flynn reportedly lied about his talks with Russia’s ambassador to Washington. In late 2016, while former President Barack Obama was still in office, the two allegedly spoke about the U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia.
This raised concerns that Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, misled Trump officials about his conversations with Russian officials.
Paul Manafort
Paul Manafort turned himself into authorities in October.
(The Associated Press)
Paul Manafort turned himself in to federal authorities in October 2017. Manafort, 68, served as Trump’s campaign manager for a few months in 2016. Richard Gates, Manafort’s business associate, also turned himself in at the time.
Manafort was indicted in connection with foreign lobbying work, and he pleaded not guilty. More specifically, the charges include: conspiracy against the U.S., conspiracy to launder money, false statements, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, and multiple counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, according to a Special Counsel’s Office spokesman.
Manafort sued to have the case against him dismissed and argued that Mueller had overstepped his bounds by charging him for conduct he says is unrelated to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Richard Gates
Richard Gates pleaded not guilty to all charges.
(The Associated Press)
Like Manafort, Richard Gates was indicted in October in connection with foreign lobbying work and pleaded not guilty. His charges are the same as Manafort’s, ranging from conspiracy against the U.S. to conspiracy to launder money.
Gates, who also worked for Trump’s campaign, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
George Papadopoulos
George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
(Alexandria Sheriff’s Office)
A former foreign policy adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty in 2017 to making false statements to the FBI regarding “the timing, extent and nature of his relationships and interactions with certain foreign nationals whom he understood to have close connections with senior Russian government officials,” according to court documents.
He also reportedly tried to set up meetings between Russian and Trump campaign officials on various occasions.
Alex Van Der Zwaan
Mueller’s team charged Alex Van Der Zwaan, an attorney who allegedly lied to federal investigators in the Russia probe, in federal court on Feb. 16.
According to charging documents, Van Der Zwaan was employed by a law firm hired by the Ukraine Ministry of Justice in 2012. He is accused of lying about his interactions with Richard Gates
13 Russian nationals
A grand jury indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies in February 2018 for allegedly interfering in the election. In the case, Mueller details a sophisticated plot to wage “information warfare” on the U.S.
The indictment is the first to be brought against Russian nationals in Mueller’s investigation.
However, the Justice Department said the indictment does not allege the interference changed the outcome of the election.
“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” Deputy Attorney Gen. Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel probe, said.
Fox News’ Kaitlyn Schallhorn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Politics
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Politics
D.C. police, FBI on alert ahead of QAnon’s ‘true Inauguration Day’
Law enforcement agencies around Washington, D.C., are adding extra security out of concern about a coming date — March 4, which is Thursday — that has swirled online among QAnon supporters.
An internal memo sent by the Timothy P. Blodgett, the acting House sergeant-at-Arms, which was obtained by NBC News, said his office “is working closely with the U.S. Capitol Police to monitor information related to March 4th and potential protests and demonstration activity surrounding what some have described as the ‘true Inauguration Day.'”
Blodgett wrote that plans are in place for “additional personnel” to “support the safety and security of Members and staff.”
The memo said Capitol Police have “no indication that groups will travel to Washington D.C. to protest or commit acts of violence.”
An FBI official said last week that the bureau was aware of the discussion among far-right groups that Thursday could be the next rallying point.
The government is still working to address the events of Jan. 6, when a rally held by President Donald Trump morphed into a riot at the Capitol.
The QAnon movement has been broadly fixated on predicting dates when Trump would initiate a purge of Democrats, journalists and celebrities who it believes are part of a secretive cabal of child abusers.
President Joe Biden’s inauguration and the Capitol riot did cause some fracturing on the far right; some extremists turned on QAnon supporters, and even other QAnon followers started to question the movement.
Many others remain QAnon adherents, having adopted Thursday as the next day they believe Democrats will be arrested en masse or the day that Trump will be re-inaugurated as president. The “sovereign citizen” movement, a 50-year-old conspiracy movement composed largely of radical tax protesters, believes there has not been a legitimate president since Ulysses S. Grant, who was inaugurated March 4, 1869.
Desperate for an explanation that would allow Trump to remain president, some QAnon conspiracy theorist forums have adopted the mythology that he would become the 19th president on Thursday, invalidating almost two centuries of legitimate American government.
Many QAnon followers took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, including Douglas Jensen, who led the first wave of the mob toward Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman. Jake Angeli, also known as the QAnon Shaman, was charged with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds after he stood at the dais on the Senate floor during the riot.
While users in online QAnon groups are looking forward to Thursday, no specific protests or events are being planned, according to an NBC analysis of the largest remaining forums. Compared to the rally-turned-riot at the Capitol, an event promoted by Trump and several organizations supporting him, Thursday is expected to be quiet. Prominent conspiracy theory influencers have also advised their followers to avoid any events Thursday, saying they are “false flag” operations organized to trap QAnon supporters.
Extremism experts warn against dismissing a continuing threat by extremists driven by white supremacists and dejected, violent conspiracy theorists.
“There is little promotion of action around March 4th,” said Daniel J. Jones, who leads Advance Democracy, a disinformation research organization.
“Of course, there may be detailed planning occurring on closed channels that we’re not seeing. Conspiracy theories around the election persist, and, remarkably, are still promoted by political leaders on the right. There should be no doubt now that this sort of rhetoric has consequences — so we continue to be concerned about the potential for violence.”
Politics
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