The 12 charges brought against Mr Manafort and one of his business associates, Rick Gates, include conspiracy to launder money.

Mr Manafort and his lawyer have arrived at an FBI office in Washington.

The charges are the first to stem from an inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the US 2016 election.

However, they do not relate to Mr Trump’s campaign but to the two men’s Ukrainian business dealings up to 2015.

An investigation headed by special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into any links between Russia and the Trump campaign. Both sides deny any collusion.

Responding to news of the charges, Mr Trump tweeted to point out that they did not concern his campaign and asked why “the focus” was not on alleged wrongdoing involving his presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton, instead.

For years Paul Manafort operated on the fringes of power, a once-influential Washington player who worked with some less-than-savoury international characters because his services were no longer in high demand domestically.

Then, like many other politicos in Donald Trump’s orbit, he was thrust into the spotlight because more established hands wanted nothing to do with the upstart’s presidential campaign.

Mr Manafort got his big break but it may end up breaking him. That resulting spotlight has drawn attention to Mr Manafort’s past dealings and raised questions about his actions while in at the top of the Trump campaign.

The good news for Mr Trump is these charges stem from Mr Manafort’s past business dealings, not his campaign efforts. He is being accused of working for years for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians and laundering millions in subsequent payments.

It certainly makes Mr Trump’s decision to cut Mr Manafort loose last August after details emerged of his Ukrainian ties seem a wise one.

The good news has its limits, however. Mr Manafort will be under growing pressure to co-operate with the Mueller investigation. If he offers up useful information about his time during the campaign, this could be just the first domino to fall.

The indictment against the two men looks at their links to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine between 2006 and 2015.

According to the indictment, Mr Manafort and Mr Gates acted as “unregistered agents” of Ukrainian politician Viktor Yanukovych and his party, both in opposition and government.

‘Lavish lifestyle’

Mr Yanukovych was deposed as president in 2014 amid mass unrest over his pro-Russian policies.

Mr Manafort is accused of having laundered more than $18m (£14m) through offshore bank accounts, using it to buy property, goods and services in transactions concealed from the US authorities.

He is said to have “used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle” in America.

Altogether, at least $75m in payments from Ukraine flowed through the accounts, the indictment says.

Mr Gates is accused of having transferred more than $3m from the offshore accounts to other accounts he controlled. He has been ordered to surrender to authorities, according to US media reports.

No immediate comment from lawyers for Mr Manafort and Mr Gates was reported after the charges were revealed.

Campaign veteran

The team led by Mr Mueller is known to have conducted extensive interviews with several current and former White House officials as part of the inquiry.

Mr Manafort, 68, has worked on several Republican presidential campaigns, beginning with Gerald Ford’s in 1976.

He resigned as chairman of the Trump campaign in August 2016 after being accused over his dealings with pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. He denies any wrongdoing.

US intelligence agencies have already concluded that the Russian government sought to help Mr Trump win the election.

But President Trump has strenuously rejected allegations of collusion, calling the investigation a “witch hunt”.

On Friday, he accused Mrs Clinton of links with Moscow. Republican lawmakers have alleged that a uranium deal with a Russian company in 2010, when Mrs Clinton was secretary of state, was sealed in exchange for donations to her husband’s charity.

A Congressional investigation has been opened into the case. Democrats say it is an attempt to divert attention from the alleged ties between Russia and Mr Trump.

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Source: BBC

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Republicans voted in secret to close the Office of Congressional Ethics, against the advice of party leaders.

“Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!” Mr Trump said in a tweet.

Mr Trump made cleaning up corruption in Washington a key theme of his campaign.

He ended his tweet with “#DTS”, which is an acronym for “drain the swamp”, his campaign slogan.

Democrats reacted with outrage to the vote, which could be passed later in the first session of the new Congress.

Trump v Republicans – who wins? Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

Members of Congress have only just arrived back in Washington, and already there is a dispute brewing between president-elect Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled legislative branch.

The move on Monday night by House Republicans was already prompting condemnation by Democrats, good-government watchdogs and political commentators.

But given that Republicans will control all levers of power in the federal government and a public uproar seemed unlikely, the change appeared to be a fait accompli.

Then Donald Trump demonstrated just how quickly his itchy Twitter finger can alter the political dynamic. Because the president-elect weighed in against the move, Republicans in the House will now have to decide whether they want to cross their new standard bearer before he even takes the oath of office.

This has become an early test of Mr Trump’s power of political persuasion. Can he use the presidential bully pulpit, magnified through social media, to bend members of his own party to his will? Or will the man who campaigned on metaphorically draining the Washington swamp find his first steps mired in the muck?

Under the change:

 The watchdog would no longer be independent

 Lawmakers would vote to determine if a fellow member of congress has broken the law

 The body would be prevented from receiving anonymous tips

 Accusations against lawmakers would not be made public, as they are currently

Senior Republican Congressmen Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy had urged their party to seek bipartisan support and to wait to push for the change later.

But Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte submitted the proposal against the advice of his own party’s leaders.
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By: BBC

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At least a dozen Republicans have said they will not be voting for him, since the comments emerged on Friday.

Mr Trump says he will never drop out of the race to be president and will never let his supporters down.

He has been under pressure after a tape from 2005 of him bragging about groping and kissing women was broadcast.

The latest to withdraw their support are former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Mr McCain said Mr Trump’s comments “make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy”, while Ms Rice said: “Enough! Donald Trump should not be President. He should withdraw.”

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte said in a statement: “I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women,” she said

Ms Ayotte – who faces a competitive race for re-election – said she would not vote for Mrs Clinton but instead would “write in” Mike Pence, Mr Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, on her ballot paper.

Several other Republicans also said they would vote for Mr Pence.

Mr Trump himself stressed that there was “zero chance I’ll quit”, adding that he was getting “unbelievable” support.

And in a tweet, the Republican candidate said “the media and establishment want me out of the race so badly”.

Mr Trump’s wife Melania issued a statement on Saturday saying: “The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me.”

She said her husband had “the heart and mind of a leader”.

Mr Pence said he was “offended” by Mr Trump’s video, but grateful he had expressed remorse and apologised to the American people.

“We pray for his family,” he said in a statement.

House Speaker Paul Ryan had originally invited Mr Trump to attend a campaign event in Wisconsin this weekend but rescinded his invitation, saying he was “sickened” by what he had heard. Mr Pence was due to go in his running mate’s place, but declined to attend.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump’s Democratic election rival, called his comments in the tape “horrific”.

In the recorded comments, which date back to 2005 when Mr Trump was appearing as a guest on a soap, he says “you can do anything” to women “when you’re a star” and is heard saying “grab them by the pussy”.

The candidate released a video statement apologising for the comments.

Mr Trump’s 2005 comments, posted by the Washington Post, overshadowed the release of transcripts of Mrs Clinton’s speeches to private events, by the whistle-blowing site Wikileaks.

The candidate had married his third wife Melania a few months before the recording. She said on Saturday: “I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.”

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Source: BBC

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