The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:34 PM
BREAKING: Special Counsel Robert Mueller Files Charge Against Attorney For Making False Statements In Russia Probe
Special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors have filed a new charge against a man they say lied to federal investigators in the Russia probe.
A charging document filed in federal court in Washington on Tuesday accuses Alex Van Der Zwaan of one charge of making false statements. The information was filed ahead of a plea hearing scheduled for later Tuesday.
The court filing says that Van Der Zwaan lied to investigators about his interactions with Rick Gates. Gates, a former Trump campaign aide, was indicted last year on charges of conspiracy to launder money and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
Mueller is investigating Russian election interference and links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
President Donald Trump is again accusing his predecessor of not doing enough to prevent Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump tweets that's because President Barack Obama "thought Crooked Hillary was going to win and he didn't want to 'rock the boat.'" But Trump says when he won "the whole game changed and the Russian excuse became the narrative of the Dems."
Trump's tweet Tuesday included a quote from Obama saying in October 2016 that "there is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America's elections." Obama was addressing Trump's claims of voter fraud, not Russia's attempt to influence voters on social media.
Obama has defended his response to Russian meddling, saying he had told the Russian president to "cut it out."