Page 3 - ARUBA TODAY

A3
U.S. NEWS Friday 23 February 2018
New charges brought against ex-Trump campaign associates

ler filed additional criminal party. The new charges,
charges Thursday against contained in a 32-count
President Donald Trump's indictment returned by a
former campaign chair- federal grand jury in Vir-
man and his business asso- ginia, allege that Manafort
ciate. and Gates doctored finan-
The filing adds allegations cial documents, lied to tax
of tax evasion and bank preparers and defrauded
fraud and significantly in- banks, using money they
creases the legal jeopardy cycled through offshore
facing Paul Manafort, who accounts to fund lavish life-
managed Trump's cam- styles in the U.S.
paign for several months in The new indictment comes
2016, and longtime associ- a week after a sepa-
ate Rick Gates. Both had rate Mueller indictment
already faced the pros- charged 13 Russians in a
pect of at least a decade conspiracy to undermine
in prison if convicted at trial. the U.S. presidential elec-
The two men were initially tion. The charges against
charged in a 12-count in- Manafort and Gates don't
dictment last October that relate to any allegations
accused them of a multi- of misconduct related to
million-dollar money-laun- Trump's campaign. He took
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrives at federal court in Washington. In a dra-
matic escalation of pressure and stakes, special counsel Robert Mueller filed additional criminal dering conspiracy tied to over an ongoing FBI inves-
charges Feb. 22, 2018, against Manafort and his business associate, Rick Gates. lobbying work for a Russia- tigation into Manafort’s for-
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) friendly Ukrainian political eign lobbying work.q
By ERIC TUCKER a dramatic escalation of
CHAD DAY pressure and stakes, spe-
WASHINGTON (AP) — In cial counsel Robert Muel-

GOP congressmen challenging

new Pennsylvania district map

By MARK SCOLFORO lican legislative leaders is
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — currently awaiting action
Pennsylvania's highest by the U.S. Supreme Court.
court overstepped its au- A spokesman for Wolf said
thority in drawing new con- he and the elections agen-
gressional district lines and cy "are complying with the
did not give state lawmak- court's order to implement
ers enough time to pro- the remedial map and as-
duce a map of their own, suring the commonwealth
eight Republican congress- is prepared for the primary
men said in a lawsuit filed election."
Thursday. The complaint The 2011 map is widely
in Harrisburg federal court considered among the na-
argued against the legal- tion's most gerrymandered,
ity of the map put in place a mélange of jagged lines
Monday by the state Su- and odd shapes that in-
preme Court, and said a clude one likened to the
2011 Republican-crafted cartoon character Goofy
map should remain in use kicking Donald Duck. The
this year. The plaintiffs are 2011 map, in some places,
suing top elections official narrows to the width of a
under Democratic Gov. single property. It has prov-
Tom Wolf, asking for an in- en to be a political winner
junction to prevent the De- for the GOP, helping the
partment of State from im- party maintain a 13-5 edge
plementing the new plan. in the state’s congressio-
"Far from being free of nal delegation over three
politics, it appears every straight election cycles.
choice in the court drawn Democrats have about
plan was to pack Republi- 800,000 more registered
cans into as few districts as voters and a recent win-
possible, while advantag- ning record in statewide
ing Democrats," the plain- elections, although Repub-
tiffs alleged. A separate licans hold wide majorities
legal challenge to the new in both chambers of the
map by two senior Repub- General Assembly.q