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| Lobbyist Linked to Manafort Pleads Guilty to Failing to Register as a Foreign Agent | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — An American lobbyist who worked with Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs pleaded guilty on Friday to failing to register with the United States government to work as an agent of a foreign power. | |
| The lobbyist, Sam Patten, has worked in a similar world as President Trump’s ex-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who was recently convicted of defrauding the federal government. As recently as this year, Mr. Patten has acted as a foreign agent for the Opposition Bloc, a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party, according to a court document filed on Friday. Mr. Manafort worked for the Opposition Bloc in 2014. | The lobbyist, Sam Patten, has worked in a similar world as President Trump’s ex-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who was recently convicted of defrauding the federal government. As recently as this year, Mr. Patten has acted as a foreign agent for the Opposition Bloc, a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party, according to a court document filed on Friday. Mr. Manafort worked for the Opposition Bloc in 2014. |
| The charge against Mr. Patten appears to stem from the special counsel investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and its case against Mr. Manafort, but is being pursued by prosecutors outside the special counsel’s team in federal court in Washington. Mr. Patten faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. | |
| Mr. Manafort has also been charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, and that trial is scheduled for September in Washington. | Mr. Manafort has also been charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, and that trial is scheduled for September in Washington. |
| Mr. Patten did not respond to a request for comment. | Mr. Patten did not respond to a request for comment. |
| For decades, prosecutors have rarely brought charges for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. But that changed, even before the appointment of the special counsel, as the Justice Department worked to meet the counterintelligence threats from foreign adversaries. | For decades, prosecutors have rarely brought charges for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. But that changed, even before the appointment of the special counsel, as the Justice Department worked to meet the counterintelligence threats from foreign adversaries. |
| The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has pursued other investigations into lawyers and lobbyists who did work in Ukraine. Mr. Mueller has handed some of these cases off to federal prosecutors in other jurisdictions. | The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has pursued other investigations into lawyers and lobbyists who did work in Ukraine. Mr. Mueller has handed some of these cases off to federal prosecutors in other jurisdictions. |
| Mr. Patten’s work for the Opposition Bloc was done in conjunction with Konstantin V. Kilimnik, a Russian national who served as Mr. Manafort’s longtime deputy on the ground in Kiev. Mr. Mueller and his team have accused Mr. Kilimnik of having ties to Russian intelligence. Mr. Kilimnik was indicted in June on charges of obstruction of justice related to witness tampering in the foreign lobbying case against Mr. Manafort. | Mr. Patten’s work for the Opposition Bloc was done in conjunction with Konstantin V. Kilimnik, a Russian national who served as Mr. Manafort’s longtime deputy on the ground in Kiev. Mr. Mueller and his team have accused Mr. Kilimnik of having ties to Russian intelligence. Mr. Kilimnik was indicted in June on charges of obstruction of justice related to witness tampering in the foreign lobbying case against Mr. Manafort. |
| Mr. Kilimnik is not named in Friday’s charging papers against Mr. Patten, but is identified as “Foreigner A,” a Russian national who formed a company in the United States with Mr. Patten. | Mr. Kilimnik is not named in Friday’s charging papers against Mr. Patten, but is identified as “Foreigner A,” a Russian national who formed a company in the United States with Mr. Patten. |