Rick Gates pleaded guilty to two charges on Friday – conspiracy against the United States and lying to the FBI.
According to a criminal information — a document filed earlier Friday with the permission of the defendant — Gates conspired to defraud the United States regarding the money he and his business partner Paul Manafort earned while working for a political party in Ukraine and lied to the FBI in a Feb. 1, 2018 interview about a 2013 meeting between Manafort, a lobbyist, and a congressman.
That FBI interview came as Gates was trying to negotiate a plea deal. In the interview, Gates claimed there had been no discussion of Ukraine at the 2013 meeting, when in fact, Gates and Manafort prepared a report detailing the Ukrainian discussions, according to the criminal information.
Bloomberg Politics has identified the meeting and the congressman who attended – Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). Rohrabacher's nickname is "Putin's favorite U.S. congressman."
The lobbying that Gates and Manafort are accused of hiding included work on behalf of Ukraine’s then-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was backed by Russia.
After the guilty plea on Friday, a spokesman for Rohrabacher, who has sought better relations with Russia, said: “As the congressman has acknowledged before, the meeting was a dinner with two longtime acquaintances –- Manafort and Weber –- from back in his White House and early congressional days.”
“The three reminisced and talked mostly about politics,” the spokesman said. “The subject of Ukraine came up in passing. It is no secret that Manafort represented Viktor Yanukovych’s interests, but as chairman of the relevant European subcommittee, the congressman has listened to all points of view on Ukraine.”
Meeting That Gates Admits Lying About Matches Rohrabacher Dinner (Bloomberg Politics)
Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates pleads guilty to 2 charges (WaPo)