A spokesperson for President Trump’s former campaign official Paul Manafort said Friday that Manfort is “confident that he will be acquitted of all charges” after special counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday filed a new indictment against Manafort and his former business partner Rick Gates.
“(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,” Manfort’s spokesperson Jason Maloni said in a statement to CNN. “The new allegations against Mr. Manafort, once again, have nothing to do with Russia and 2016 election interference/collusion. Mr. Manafort is confident that he will be acquitted and violations of his constitutional rights will be remedied.”
In October, Manfort and Gates were indicted on charges of conspiracy against the U.S., conspiracy to launder money and making false statements. Mueller filed an additional 32-count indictment against the two on Thursday, with charges ranging from making false statements on tax returns, failure to report foreign bank and financial accounts and bank fraud. The indictment also alleges Manafort and Gates misled lenders and exaggerated their income in order to obtain loans.
The additional charges are the latest in a string of indictments against Trump campaign associates as Mueller investigates Russian interference in the 2016 election. Last week, Mueller announced an indictment against 13 Russian nationals for their work for a Russian troll farm to meddle in the election.
