Rick Gates, Paul Manafort’s business partner, expected to plead guilty

Rick Gates, the business partner of Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, is expected to plead guilty to the charges brought against the two men this week.

A person familiar with the case confirmed to NPR on Friday that Gates has been negotiating with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller to change his plea from not guilty and begin cooperating with investigators.

The details weren’t clear on Friday morning but there had been signs beforehand, including suggestions based on Gates’ changes to his legal team, that a plea deal might be in the works.

There was no immediate information about the charges to which Gates might plead guilty or what accommodation that prosecutors are willing to make.

The guilty plea would follow a new indictment from Thursday evening in which prosecutors leveled even more charges against Manafort and Gates than they had been facing before. The two men are charged with laundering millions of dollars from overseas, hiding money from the IRS and other crimes.

Manafort has made no indication that he intends to stop fighting the case. A spokesman told NPR on Thursday evening that Manafort “is innocent of the allegations set out in the newly filed indictments and he is confident that he will be acquitted of all charges.”

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