By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort surrendered to federal authorities, marking the first arrest as part of a special counsel investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia to disrupt the presidential election.
Manafort’s longtime business partner Robert Gates also has been ordered to surrender in what marks a significant development in an investigation that has cast a long shadow over the White House, multiple news sources reports this morning.
At 8:15 a.m., Manafort was spotted walking into the FBI’s field office in Washington D.C. with his attorney.
Manafort has been an early focus in the intensifying investigation over allegations that he committed money laundering, violated federal tax laws and failed to disclose the extent of his foreign lobbying.
Gates has been linked to companies that Manafort established to receive payments from movers and shakers in Eastern Europe.
The arrest of Manafort was expected after the FBI raided his home.
With early arrests in large, complex federal investigations, prosecutors often try to offer leniency in exchange for incriminating information about higher-ups.
But people close to Manafort, including his former business partner Roger Stone Jr., insist he doesn’t plan to provide damaging information about the president.
A veteran Republican strategist, Manafort joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 and climbed the ranks of Trump’s campaign until he was running the day-to-day operations.
