Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates is finalizing a plea deal based on what he told Mueller: report

A former adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign is finalizing a plea deal and likely cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

CNN reported Thursday evening that Rick Gates, who was also a close business associate of one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort, will become the third person known to cooperate with Mueller.

Gates and Manafort both pleaded not guilty to numerous charges related to their payments from foreign entities, one of which included "conspiracy against the United States." Both men were placed under separate house arrests last fall, and have since been released.

Gates has reportedly been in plea negotiations with prosecutors for roughly a month, and has had his "Queen for a Day" interview "in which a defendant answers any questions from the prosecutors' team, including about his own case and other potential criminal activity he witnessed."