31 Oct 2017

Ex-FBI assistant director on Trump campaign arrests

From Morning Report, 8:10 am on 31 October 2017

Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort and a campaign aide have appeared in a Washington court this morning and pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering. Mr Manafort and aide Rick Gates were arrested today as a result of former FBI director Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential elections. Mr Trump' attorney, Jay Sekulow, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer the charges related to activity that took place long before the two men worked on Mr Trump's campaign. He also said charges relating to more recent statements made by the pair were again not relevant to Robert Mueller's Russia probe. It has also emerged that former Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI earlier this year during the investigation. Ron Hosko, a former assistant director of the FBI, joins us to explain the case.