Paul Manafort Enters Guilty Plea In Second Trial

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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/AP) — President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort has pleaded guilty to two federal charges as part of a cooperation deal with prosecutors.

The deal requires him to cooperate "fully and truthfully" with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

The charges against Manafort are related to his Ukrainian consulting work — not Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which is the central issue in the special counsel's investigation.

The charges are one count of conspiracy against the US and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice due to attempts to tamper with witnesses, according to a court filing Friday.

Friday's move gives Mueller another successful conviction while allowing Manafort to avoid facing another costly public trial.

Manafort was convicted last month of eight financial crimes in a separate trial in Virginia. In that case, a jury found Manafort guilty of eight counts of tax evasion, failing to report foreign bank accounts and bank fraud. Jurors deadlocked on 10 other counts.

The White House says Manafort's decision to plead guilty and cooperate with Mueller is "totally unrelated" to President Donald Trump.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)