Richard Gates has hired a top white-collar attorney who was spotted at special counsel Robert Mueller’s office twice over the past week, CNN reported Tuesday.
Gates, a former business associate of former Trump campaign head Paul Manafort, has been charged in Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference. CNN reported that he recently added top D.C. defense attorney Tom Green to his legal team.
{mosads}According to CNN, Green was seen at Mueller’s office two times last week, suggesting that Gates might be in negotiations with the special counsel.
The network noted that Green is not listed as an attorney for Gates in the court records, and works for a law firm different from that of the rest of the lawyers on Gates’s team.
Green declined to comment to CNN, as did Gates’s primary lawyers, citing the gag order on the case.
The Hill has reached out to the special counsel’s office for comment. A spokesperson for the office declined to comment to CNN.
Gates pleaded not guilty in October to eight charges in the probe, including money laundering. Manafort also pleaded not guilty to charges in the same case.
Mueller has filed charges against four figures tied to President Trump in his probe. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos have both pleaded guilty to charges from Mueller.
Both men are cooperating with the special counsel’s office, and could be joined by Gates if he decides to strike a deal with the special counsel.
Gates’s attorney Walter Mack said in court last month that federal prosecutors had warned him that more charges might be filed against Gates.
Gates was released from house arrest earlier this month.