All criminal charges will emerge up to now: NPR

Longer than special advocate Robert Mueller has conducted his investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, plus President Trump has stood up against it. Since the start of the investigation in May 2017, the president has adopted Twitter and has described it as "witch hunt" over 125 times.

Aside from this criticism, the investigation of the special advocate resulted in criminal charges against more than 30 people and three Russian entities. And if the final result of Mueller 's investigation is far from certain, it has already helped to better understand how Russia has targeted the election, the presidential transition and the US. Trump's commercial empire.

Let's take a closer look at where things stand:

Sentenced: Paul Manafort

The former president of President Trump's campaign pleaded guilty in September 2018 to conspiring against the United States and for complicity in obstructing justice – charges that stemmed from a series of crimes alleged to have been committed for more than ten years as a lobbyist and then a member of the Trump campaign.

Manafort was to be tried in Washington, DC, but his plea meant that his case was not submitted to a jury.

As part of its plea agreement, Manafort agreed to cooperate with the investigation in the Mueller case. In November, the special advocate's office told a federal judge that he had "violated the plea agreement".

Prosecutors said that Manafort had committed new crimes "by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigations and to the office of the special council on various topics". Manafort's lawyers said he had provided the government with useful information.

In a previous case, a federal jury convicted Manafort of eight of the 18 charges against him in a case of fraud and fraudulent banking fraud.

The Mueller investigation: the first case to be tried. Prosecutors accused Manafort of failing to pay taxes on millions of dollars that he had earned as a consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine and concealed at the IRS.

The jury was found deadlocked on 10 counts of indictment, prompting US District Judge T. Ellis III to declare a no trial on the remaining charges.

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Guilty Plea: Michael Cohen

At one time, attorney Michael Cohen had stated that he "would take a bullet" for Donald Trump. But since he pleaded guilty in November 2018 to having lied to Congress, Cohen has raised new questions about Trump's commercial interests in Russia during a pivotal period of the presidential campaign. 2016.

Cohen admitted that he had lied when he told Congress that talks on a potential Trump Tower project in Moscow had ended in January 2016. In fact, did he says, they continued until June of the same year.

According to court documents, Cohen initially stated that his dealings with the Russian government were unjustified, but as the talks progressed, he finally heard from one of the senior aides of Russian President Vladimir Putin: Dmitry Peskov.

In August 2018, Cohen also pleaded guilty to five counts of tax evasion, a forgery head of bidding at a bank and two violations of campaign funding – a plea that directly involved the president.

Campaign funding violations stem from two payments that Cohen had helped to hold before election day in 2016 to buy the silence of the former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, and the actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels. The women say they have had sex with Trump.

Trump acknowledged repaying Cohen $ 130,000 to Clifford – but denies the alleged relationship with the two women.

Cohen told a federal judge that he had made payments "in coordination with and on the instructions of a candidate for the federal office" and that he did so. "for the main purpose of influencing the election".

Cohen's sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 12th.

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Guilty plea: W. Samuel Patten

W. Samuel Patten pleaded guilty in August 2018 to failing to register as a foreign agent for lobbying work he had done for a political party in Ukraine called the Opposition Bloc.

Prosecutors said Patten was associated with a Russian national to lobby on behalf of the pro-Russian party, offering political consultations to its members, including an unidentified Ukrainian oligarch. They received more than $ 1 million for this work, which included setting up meetings with government officials and members of Congress, as well as writing editorials to appear on behalf of the oligarch in the United States. US media.

Although unidentified in court documents, the Russian national would be Konstantin Kilimnik, who worked for years in close collaboration with Paul Manafort in Ukraine. Patten's case was presented by the US District Attorney's Office on the recommendation of the special advocate.

Patten has not yet been sentenced.

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Guilty Plea: Rick Gates

Like Manafort, Rick Gates was once one of the key collaborators of Trump, the deputy chair of his campaign at the 2016 presidential race, and later, the committee's main assistant of the first presidential.

Previously, Gates was Manafort's protégé for years.

He had agreed to cooperate with the investigation in the Mueller case after pleading guilty to financial fraud in February 2018 and lying to federal investigators.

Originally, he was charged by Manafort with conspiracy to launder money, making false statements and other accusations in connection with their work as counsel for Ukrainian politicians respectful of Russia.

At the Manafort trial, Gates declared that he and his former partner had used bank accounts abroad and wire transfers to conceal money from the IRS. Gates risk up to six years in prison. He continued to cooperate with the government as investigations progressed and has not yet been sentenced.

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Guilty Plea: Alex van der Zwann

Alex van der Zwann became the first person to have been sentenced as part of the investigation into Mueller after pleading guilty to lying to investigators.

The son-in-law of a Russian-based billionaire, van der Zwaan, admitted in federal court in February 2018 that he had misled investigators about a conversation that was going on. He had had with Rick Gates, the former assistant of the Trump campaign, in September 2016. [19659008] The conversation focused on a report prepared by the law firm van der Zwann regarding prosecution against Yulia Tymoshenko, a political rival of the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $ 20,000.

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Richard Pinedo

Richardo Pinedo is a Californian who, in February 2018, pleaded guilty to identity fraud.

Pinedo admitted to having won tens of thousands of dollars by creating hundreds of bank accounts, often using stolen identities. He then sold these accounts on the Web to unidentified foreign users.

It is not known to what extent, if any, these users included suspects related to the investigation conducted in Russia. But it is possible that they were used as part of a scheme described by Mueller's office in which Russians determined to attack the 2016 election were shifting money into the country. worldwide to pay for virtual private networks, web hosting services and other similar cyber tools.

an interview with The New York Times Pinedo's lawyer, Jeremy I. Lessem, stated that if his client's actions helped "any individual, including a foreign national, to to interfere in the US presidential election, this would be done completely without his knowledge and without understanding. "

Pindedo was sentenced to six months in prison, six months of house arrest and 100 hours of work of general interest.

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Guilty Plea: Michael Flynn

During the 2016 campaign, Michael Flynn directed the songs to "lock it" at the Republican National Convention. After Trump's victory, he was named first national security advisor.

But he worked less than a month before resigning. In December 2017, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the transition.

The only charge against Flynn related to discussions with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on two issues: the Obama administration's sanctions against Russia and a UN resolution condemning the settlements. Israeli settlement.

According to court documents, Flynn denied investigators that he had asked Kislyak to defeat or delay the US vote on the settlements, and that he had also asked the Russians to s & # 39; To refrain from reprisals against the sanctions. The government said Flynn was headed by "a very experienced member" of the transitional team.

Flynn, a former army general, will finally admit that he is misleading the FBI about these conversations and, as part of his plea agreement, agrees to cooperate with him. Special Council inquiry. Prior to his hearing, prosecutors said Flynn had provided "substantial assistance" to "several ongoing investigations", stating to a court that his assistance deserved to be considered by a judge.

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Pleaded guilty: George Papadopoulos

George Papadopoulos was the first person accused in the Mueller case investigation and pleaded guilty in October 2017 to having lied to the FBI.

Papadopoulos was a beginner foreign policy advisor for the 2016 Trump campaign. One of the many questioned was asked early on who would advise Trump on foreign affairs. Trump once rented it as an "excellent guy".

In January 2017, the FBI interviewed Papadopoulos about his interactions with a London-based professor with links to the Russian government. The official told Papadopoulos that the Russians had "messed up" Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of e-mails," according to court documents.

Prosecutors say Papadopoulos used the professor's relationship to organize a meeting between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

In his interview with the FBI, Papadopoulos first described the professor as "a nothing", but the investigators said that "In truth … Papadopoulos understood that the professor had close ties with the authorities Russian. "

Papadopoulos' lawyer stated during his conviction that he did not remember he had communicated to his superiors the information about the filth undergone by Clinton during the campaign Trump

. He was sentenced to 14 days in prison. In a statement provided to NPR after his release in December 2018, his attorney pointed out that there was no evidence that he was in collusion with Russia and that he was not guilty of a crime. had never been accused of having made or implicated in a plot to undermine the presidential election. [19659008] Read the finding of the offense // More in NPR

Indicted: Russian intelligence

In July 2018, the Ministry of Justice indicted 12 Russian intelligence agents for litigation of alleged crimes linked to the piracy of the Democratic National Demon by Russia. Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Clinton Presidential Campaign.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who announced the charges, said the accused worked for the Intelligence Branch of the Russian Government's Main Staff, known as the GRU.

In a 29-page indictment, the Ministry of Justice explained how the attackers managed to gain access to e-mails and sensitive information from the Democratic Party, then carefully edited their publication to achieve maximum political impact through characters. fictional online, including "DCLeaks". "Guccifer 2.0."

The Russians also targeted state electoral systems and stole information from about 500,000 voters. However, as it is unlikely that Russia will extradite the alleged defendants by Russia, the case will not be the subject of a lawsuit.

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Accused: Konstantin Kilimnik

Konstantin Kilimnik worked alongside Paul Manafort in Ukraine for more than ten years years. According to Politico, he started as a translator and then participated in the management of his lobbying activities in Kiev.

In June 2018, the special board office charged Kilimnik with obstructing justice for allegedly attempting to persuade witnesses to lie to the jury in the government case against Manafort, then pending. Manafort eventually pleaded guilty and the case was not tried.

Kilimnik is believed to be living in Russia, which means he is unlikely to be extradited to the United States for trial.

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Indicted: Russian trolls on the Internet

A federal grand jury indicted 13 Russians and three Russian entities in February 2018 for what Rosenstein described to journalists as "information warfare" with "the declared aim of sowing mistrust towards the candidates and the political system in general".

At the center of the indictment was the work of the Internet Research Agency, the infamous Russian trolls farm based in St. Petersburg. It's there, said Rosenstein, that the suspects "took extraordinary steps to make believe that they were mere US political activists".

They created "hundreds of social media accounts" to divide Americans around polarizing issues and, according to the indictment, "engaged in operations aimed primarily at communicating derogatory information. on Hillary Clinton … and to support Bernie Sanders and the candidate who was at the time "Donald Trump. "

The indictment does not assess whether the disinformation scheme has managed to tip the votes, and the US intelligence community also said it did not evaluate the type of information." The effect that the scheme had had on the outcome of the 2016 White House race. Unless Russia cooperates in the extradition of the accused, misinformation specialists, they are not likely to. brought to justice

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