The Latest: Manafort denies new allegations by Mueller

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on investigations into the Trump campaign and Russia (all times local):

8:20 p.m.

Paul Manafort, who led President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for several months, is denying new allegations made against him in an indictment brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.

A spokesman for the former Trump campaign chairman says Manafort is “innocent” and “confident” that he will be acquitted of all charges. The spokesman, Jason Maloni, also cites unspecified violations of Manafort’s constitutional rights that he says will be “remedied.”

The statement comes hours after Mueller’s prosecutors revealed that a federal grand jury in Virginia had returned a 32-count indictment against Manafort and his business associate, Rick Gates. It accuses them of tax evasion and bank fraud.

The filing adds to charges they already faced in Washington that stem from their lobbying and political consulting for Ukrainian interests.

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4:45 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller filed additional criminal charges Thursday against Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman and his business associate.

The filing adds allegations of tax evasion and bank fraud and significantly increases the legal jeopardy facing Paul Manafort, who managed Trump’s campaign for several months in 2016, and longtime associate Rick Gates.

The two men were initially charged in a 12-count indictment in October that accused them of a multimillion-dollar money-laundering conspiracy tied to lobbying work for a Russia-friendly Ukrainian political party.

The new charges allege that Manafort and Gates doctored financial documents, lied to tax preparers and defrauded banks — using money they cycled through offshore accounts to spend lavishly.

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