The Justice Department also revealed that former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty back on Oct. 5 to making false statements to FBI agents.

Advertisement Manafort, Gates plead not guilty to conspiracy, 11 other charges The Justice Department also revealed that former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty back on Oct. 5 to making false statements to FBI agents. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's ex-campaign chairman, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, and 11 other charges filed against him in federal court.Manafort and his former business associate Rick Gates, who also pleaded not guilty, are the first to be charged in a special counsel investigation related to possible collusion between the Russian government and members of Trump's team as well as potential obstruction of justice and financial crimes. The below photo shows Manafort leaving his home in Alexandria, Virginia en-route to the FBI's Washington D.C. field office Monday morning.The indictment contains 12 counts: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Manafort and Gates were both ordered to home confinement and ordered to surrender their passports after pleading not guilty before Federal Judge Deborah Robinson.Robinson agreed to Justice Department requests to set bond at $10 million for Manafort and $5 million for Gates. They did not have to put collateral behind that amount, and will not have to pay it unless they violate the court's directions.The Justice Department revealed that former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty back on Oct. 5 to making false statements to FBI agents. Papadopoulos served as a policy adviser during the president's election campaign.According to court documents, Papadopoulos allegedly made a "false, fictitious and fraudulent" statement about the timing and extent of his relationships with foreign nationals whom he understood to have close connections with senior officials in the Russian government.White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders downplayed Papadopoulos' role, saying he was a volunteer who had an "extremely limited role" in the campaign. The White House is distancing itself from Papadopoulos' plea deal and the Manafort-Gates indictments.Sanders says most of the alleged activities for which Manafort and Gates have been indicted took place before the 2016 campaign. The press secretary added that says the alleged misdeeds have nothing to do with President Trump or his campaign.The indictment of a top official from Trump campaign official signals a dramatic new phase of Robert Mueller's wide-ranging investigation. Manafort, whose work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has attracted scrutiny from federal investigators, has previously denied financial wrongdoing regarding his Ukraine-related payments, his bank accounts in offshore tax shelters and his various real-estate transactions over the years.He is the first person in Trump's orbit charged in connection with the special counsel investigation, which is exploring whether Trump's actions surrounding the firing of former FBI Director James Comey amount to obstruction of justice. Mueller has taken a broad approach to his mandate that includes a focus on the financial dealings of Trump's team.The president responded to news of the Manafort-Gates indictment on Twitter saying that the alleged incidents occurred "years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign."The president also asked why his general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, wasn't being investigated.However, the indictment covers the years 2006-2017. Manafort joined the Trump campaign in March of 2016, and became manager in June. Two months later, Manafort resigned as campaign manager. The indictment does not formally connect any campaign official to Russia collusion or connect any of the charges to the campaign. In another tweet, the president added that there was "no collusion," echoing sentiments he made during a series of Sunday morning tweets. Before the indictment, the FBI in July executed a so-called no-knock search warrant with guns drawn at Manafort's home in Alexandria, Virginia, seizing financial and tax documents, including some that had already been provided to congressional investigators.