Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired by President Trump earlier this year, predicted there are more charges to come in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference.
“Special Counsel Mueller already has one criminal conviction. And this plea portends more charges to come,” Bharara tweeted.
He shared a photo of a portion of a court filing on former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, which said: “Through his false statements and omissions, defendant PAPADOPOULOS impeded the FBI’s ongoing investigation into the existence of any links or coordination between individuals associated with the Campaign and the Russian government’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.”
{mosads}Papadopoulos earlier this month pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents investigating possible collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government.
The Department of Justice unsealed the court filings shortly after it announced charges against two other high-ranking Trump campaign officials: Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.
Prosecutors charged Papadopoulos with lying to investigators about his discussions with a foreign professor who told him that Russians had thousands of emails containing “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
Manafort is being charged with 12 counts — including conspiracy against the United States — in the first indictment to come from the Mueller’s Russia investigation.
On Sunday, Bharara, who announced he was fired in March after refusing to resign when asked by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said it is important to watch Trump’s reaction to the first charges in the Mueller probe, noting Trump’s reactions could be used as evidence.