Page 4 - aruba-today-20180224

A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 24 February 2018

Ex-Trump aide pleads guilty, will cooperate in Russia probe

By CHAD DAY on Manafort about his fi-
TOM LoBIANCO nances and political con-
ERIC TUCKER sulting work in Ukraine, and
WASHINGTON (AP) — A also someone who had ac-
former senior adviser to cess at the highest levels of
President Donald Trump's Trump's 2016 presidential
election campaign plead- campaign.
ed guilty Friday to federal Gates, 45, of Richmond,
conspiracy and false-state- Virginia, made the plea at
ments charges, saying he the federal courthouse in
will now cooperate in the Washington. He admitted
special counsel's Russia in- to charges accusing him
vestigation. of conspiring against the
The plea by Rick Gates re- U.S. government related
vealed that he will help spe- to fraud and unregistered
cial counsel Robert Muel- foreign lobbying as well as
ler's investigation in "any lying to federal authorities
and all matters" as prosecu- in a recent interview. The
tors continue to probe the plea came a day after a
Trump campaign, Russian federal grand jury in Vir-
election interference and ginia returned a 32-count
Gates' longtime business indictment against Gates
associate, Paul Manafort. Rick Gates arrives at federal court in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. Gates, a former top ad- and Manafort, Trump’s for-
With his cooperation, Gates viser to President Donald Trump's campaign is scheduled to plead guilty in the special counsel's mer campaign chairman,
gives Mueller a witness will- Russia investigation to federal conspiracy and false statements charges. accusing them of tax eva-
ing to provide information (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) sion and bank fraud.q

Trump says son-in-law's clearance is up to Kelly

By JILL COLVIN interim security clearance. ing a joint press conference
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- "I will let General Kelly make with Australian Prime Minis-
dent Donald Trump says that decision and he's go- ter Malcolm Turnbull, where
he'll leave it up to chief of ing to do what's right for he addressed the security
staff John Kelly to decide the country and I have no clearance issue for the first
whether Trump's son-in-law, doubt he'll make the right time.
Jared Kushner, will keep his decision," Trump said dur- Kushner is one of dozens
of White House aides who
have been working without
permanent security clear-
Paradise in the Caribbean ances for the better part of
a year.
Kelly had set a Friday dead-
line for halting access to
top secret information for Jared Kushner takes a phone call before a Security Council
those whose applications meeting on the situation in Middle East, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018
have been pending since at United Nations headquarters.
June 1 or before that date. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Some officials are expect-
ed to leave their posts as a would circumvent the tra- praise on Kushner, saying
result, while others will con- ditional process. he'd "done an outstand-
tinue working with reduced But Trump made clear Fri- ing job." He noted Kushner
— or no — access to classi- day he'd be leaving it to does not take a salary and
fied information. Kelly to make the call. complained he'd been
White House officials had "He's going to do what's treated "very unfairly" by
not ruled out the idea of right for the country and I the press. The White House
Trump potentially using have no doubt he'll make has repeatedly changed its
his executive authority to the right decision," said timeline about who knew
SALES OFFICE +297 2801005 info@leventaruba.com grant Kushner a permanent Trump. At the same time, what about the allegations
MOBILE +297 5927275 www.leventaruba.com security clearance, which the president heaped and when.q