Russian collusion probe: What charges against Manafort, Gates and Papadopoulos could mean for Trump

Five months into Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of cooperation between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, Americans are seeing the first legal maneuvers in the case.

Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates surrendered to U.S. District Court on Oct. 30, after being indicted by a grand jury. Both pleaded not guilty to 12 counts, including conspiracy.

Hours later, we learned a foreign policy advisor to the campaign, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI earlier in the month.

What does all of this mean?

For those of us who study presidential elections and administrations, the indictments offer a first look at the tangled web of financial relationships among the Trump campaign staff, and a newly revealed effort by the Russians to share “dirt” – including thousands of emails – on Hillary Clinton.

What about George Papadopoulos?

The news that George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about meetings with individuals closely associated with the Russian government during the campaign is an important development in the ongoing investigation. It establishes an additional effort by Russia to contact the Trump campaign in an effort to help Trump win the presidency.

That we only learned about that plea today, when Special Counsel Robert Mueller is indicting Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, suggests Papadopoulos’s cooperation with the investigation is problematic for the president. Mueller filed a motion calling Papadopoulos a “proactive cooperator” and urged the court to maintain secrecy because Papadopoulos had agreed to provide information relevant to an ongoing investigation of Russian interference with the election.
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Pakistan parliament forms body to probe allegations against Imran Khan

Pakistan parliament adopted a motion on Friday to form a committee which will probe the harassment allegations against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan.

On Tuesday, National Assembly Member Ayesha Gulalai left the PTI claiming that women affiliated with the party faced constant harassment in the party. She accused the PTI chief of sending her lewd text messages.

The motion was presented by lawmaker Arifa Khalid Parvez and accepted by the house.

Speaking on the matter, Prime Minister Khaqan Abbasi said it affected the integrity of the house and the issue of harassment should be taken seriously.

He said the Inspector General of Punjab had been ordered to provide security to Gulalai, who was receiving threats following her disclosures against the PTI chief.

"Both the PTI chief and Gulalai are respectable personalities; therefore, a committee should be formed to probe the allegations," Abbasi said in his speech.

PTI lawmaker Shireen Mazari rejected the Prime Minister's suggestion and said that, instead of Imran Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khuwaja Asif should be probed for abusing her in the house.
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ArcelorMittal denies French pollution charge, says 97% residue recycled

Facing allegations of pollution, steel giant ArcelorMittal has said 97 per cent of residues from the Florange site in France are recycled or recovered and its internal probe has concluded that there is no wrong-doing.

The statement comes amid reports by French newspaper The Repulicain Lorrain that the public prosecutor's office in Thionville has opened an investigation into the alleged acid pollution of ArcelorMittal's crassier in Florange of France.

"ArcelorMittal and all of Florange's staff work are in full compliance with our authorisations to operate and store our residues. For the past 10 years, the Florange site has considerably reduced the volume of residues deposited in the storage area and today, 97 per cent of the residues from the site are recycled or recovered," said Eric Niedziela, CEO of ArcelorMittal Atlantique and Lorraine, in a statement.

"Our internal investigation concludes that there is neither fraud nor pollution," Niedziela said.

Announcing the conclusion of the internal investigation, Niedziela stressed: "We take our responsibilities very seriously and continue to work intensively to improve treatment and recovery of our residues to reduce our environmental footprint."

The steelmaker said: "No dumping of pure acid has been done... The acid used for the pickling process is systematically regenerated and reused."

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