Gates agrees to testify against Manafort in Mueller probe: report

Richard Gates, a former campaign adviser for President Trump, has agreed to testify against his former associate Paul Manafort as part of a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

The former adviser and Manafort business associate is reportedly nearing a deal with Mueller’s team and will plead guilty to fraud charges in the next few days, according to the Times.

Gates and Manafort were both indicted in Mueller’s probe in October and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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CNN first reported last week, however, that Gates had been working to strike a deal with Mueller.

A person close to the talks told the Times that Gates will change his plea “within the next few days” and that he expects to receive a far shorter sentence if he cooperates with Mueller’s office.

Gates’s defense lawyer did not return the Times’s request for comment. And a spokesman for Mueller declined to comment to the newspaper.

Gates hired a prominent white-collar attorney last month, who was spotted twice meeting with Mueller’s team. The meeting fueled speculation that Gates was moving to cooperate with the special counsel.

Mueller accused Manafort of bank fraud in a court filing Friday, but did not file new criminal charges against the former Trump campaign head.

Former Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos and former national security adviser Michael Flynn have both pleaded guilty to charges in Mueller’s probe.

The special counsel also indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian groups on Friday for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election.