Veteran Washington lobbyist Rick Gates turned himself into federal authorities Monday morning in the company of his longtime business associate Paul Manafort.
Gates, 45, was charged with transferring over $3 million from overseas accounts, and both men were charged with making false statements.
“As part of the scheme, Manafort and Gates repeatedly provided false information to financial bookkeepers, tax accountants and legal counsel, among others,” the indictment reads.
Manafort and Gates have a business relationship dating back nearly three decades. The pair first met when Gates joined the influential Washington lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone, Kelly as an intern. Since then, Gates has shadowed Manafort throughout his career, following him to his second lobbying business, Davis Manafort, in 2006.
Manafort’s second venture focused on applying his Washington based business model, aiding in a certain candidate’s election and then trading access to that candidate post election with the obscure world of eastern European politics.
Working out of an office in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, Gates sold the Russian backed presidential candidate Victor Yanukovych as a reform-minded populist favoring increased engagement with the European Union. Gates courted numerous wealthy eastern European moguls in the course of his work for Yanukovych, including Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska, who was denied a U.S. visa due to suspected ties to organized crimes, met with Gates on numerous occasions in Moscow. Both of their names appear on documents, reviewed by the New York Times, which are linked to shell companies established in Cyprus to receive payments from eastern European politicians and businessmen.
Gates followed Manafort once again when he joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 to prevent electoral college delegates from breaking faith and voting against Trump in a coordinated effort to nullify his election. Manafort quickly replaced Corey Lewandowski as campaign chairman and brought on Gates as his deputy. Manafort’s tenure was short lived, he was fired months later after his business ties to Yanukovych were exposed.
Gates remained in the campaign and worked as part of the transition team, ultimately moving on to a pro-Trump lobbying operation, America First Policies. He was forced out of the lobbying group in March after former FBI Director James Comey announced an investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.
Despite his ouster from the pro-Trump lobbying firm, it appears Gates was able to retain his influence within Trump’s orbit. Quickly, landing a job working for millionaire Trump fundraiser Tom Barrack. Barrack, who led Trump’s inauguration committee, has brought Gates to the White House to meet with Trump on several occasions, according to the Daily Beast.
Gates’ continued proximity to the White House does not reflect Trump’s sentiment toward to the longtime lobbyist. Trump reportedly was unaware of Gates existence well into his time working for the campaign and has disliked him ever since he became aware of Gates’ identity.
“Trump still hates him,” one GOP source familiar with the relationship told The Daily Beast, describing Gates as “Manafort’s rabbi.”
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