Who’s been charged in Mueller-linked probes, and why

Paul Manafort

Manafort, a longtime lobbyist and Trump’s former campaign chairman, pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct justice. As part of his plea, he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

He was previously found guilty after a three-week trial on tax and bank fraud charges. The jury convicted him on eight of the 18 counts. The jury said it was deadlocked on the other 10. U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis declared a mistrial on those other charges.

Manafort was also indicted on charges he conspired to obstruct justice as investigators probed a past secret lobbying scheme on behalf of Ukraine.

Michael Cohen

Cohen, Trump’s “fixer” for many years, pleaded guilty to eight counts in front of a federal grand jury in New York. The case was referred by Mueller to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. They include five counts of tax evasion, one count of making a false statement to a bank and two campaign finance violations. As part of the plea deal, he acknowledged that he worked to silence two women ‘in coordination’ with Trump to influence 2016 election.

Yevgeniy Vikotorovich Prigozhin and others

Prigozhin was one of 13 Russians indicted Feb. 16 on conspiracy charges stemming from what U.S. officials say was a years-long effort to create division among Americans and bolster Trump’s chances of winning the presidential election. Prigozhin has been identified by Russian media as an oligarch and the financial backer of the Internet Research Agency, a troll farm in St. Petersburg that carried out the propaganda campaign. He has been nicknamed “Putin’s chef” because of his close ties to Russian President Vladi­mir Putin. After his indictment, Prigozhin told a Russian news outlet that Americans “see what they want to see… If they want to see the devil, let them.” He has denied any involvement with the Internet Research Agency.

W. Samuel Patten

Patten, a Washington consultant who advised a Ukrainian political party and worked with a co-defendant of Paul Manafort, pleaded guilty Friday to failing to register as a foreign lobbyist while working on behalf of a Ukrainian political party.

He was charged with one count of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act for failing to register with the Justice Department when he represented a Ukrainian political party known as the Opposition Bloc from 2014 through this year.

Konstantin Kilimnik

Konstantin Kilimnik was charged on June 8 in a superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. The new charges revolve around allegations that he and Manafort tried to influence two potential witnesses in a case involving the failure to register as foreign lobbyists. According to prosecutors, Manafort, Kilimnik and others in 2012 put together a lobbying effort with former European politicians referred to informally as the “Hapsburg group” to advocate on behalf of Ukraine to U.S. and European officials.

Rick Gates Cooperating

Gates has been Paul Manafort’s business associate since 2006 and worked as his deputy during Trump's presidential campaign. He also helped lead a nonprofit called America First Policies to bolster Trump’s agenda. Gates was charged in the special counsel’s 12-count indictment with conspiracy to launder money, making false statements and other charges. He pleaded guilty to two charges on Feb. 23.

Michael ­Flynn Cooperating

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017, to making false statements to the FBI about his discussions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on sanctions on Russia and a U.N. resolution on Israel. According to court documents filed by the special counsel, Flynn had a conversation with Kislyak on Dec. 22 requesting Russia vote or delay a vote on a U.N. resolution about Israeli settlements. A week later, court documents say Flynn called Kislyak suggesting Russia to not retaliate for sanctions imposed by the Obama administration. The Russian ambassador called back saying Russia would not retaliate, records say.

George Papadopoulos Cooperating

Papadopoulos is a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 5 to lying to FBI agents about his interactions with Russians who claimed to have political “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Documents released in late October showed that the White House was aware of his months-long efforts to arrange a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House has attempted to distance itself from Papadopoulos, claiming he was a “low level volunteer” on the campaign.

Richard Pinedo Cooperating

Pinedo, a 28-year-old businessman from California, pleaded guilty on Feb. 16 to identity fraud. Pinedo told prosecutors he created hundreds of bank accounts with stolen identities and sold those accounts to unidentified offshore users, which may include suspects connected with the Russia investigation. Pinedo has agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Alex Van Der Zwaan

The 33-year-old lawyer pleaded guilty on Feb. 20 to lying to the FBI over his contacts with former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates, another defendant in the Mueller probe. Van der Zwaan was a London-based lawyer for the prestigious law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom, which worked with Paul Manafort and Gates when they served as political consultants in Ukraine. He is the son-in-law of German Khan, a billionaire and an owner of Alfa Group, Russia’s largest financial and industrial investment group. Van der Zwaan’s plea does not include any conditions for him to cooperate against others ensnared in the probe.

On April 3 Van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison, the first sentence handed out in the Mueller probe.