The office of special counsel Robert Mueller has now proposed dropping charges against former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates, in what might be the strongest sign yet that Gates has given the investigation significant information related to its probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
As reported by Politico's Kyle Cheney, the special counsel's office has officially proposed dropping 17 separate charges against Gates from a superseding indictment that it issued last week. In his filing to dismiss the charges, Mueller writes "the government is moving to dismiss pursuant to a plea agreement," although he doesn't spell out any details of what his office is getting in exchange from Gates.
Gates, who served as Trump’s deputy campaign chairman during the 2016 presidential election, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to federal investigators last week. Gates' guilty plea came shortly after the special counsel's office issued a new 32-count indictment against Gates and Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager who faces charges related to money laundering and tax fraud.
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