The following article by Caroline Orr was posted on the ShareBlue.com website August 24, 2018:
Here’s a look at the charges, guilty pleas, and convictions piling up all around Trump.
Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was found guiltyon eight federal charges Tuesday, just an hour before Trump’s longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts, including illegally paying hush money for the purpose of helping Trump win the election.
With previous guilty pleas from Rick Gates (2 counts), George Papadopoulus (1 count), and Mike Flynn (1 count), that brings the total number of Trump associates who have pleaded guilty to or been convicted of criminal charges in the Russia probe to five, and the total count of criminal charges on their rap sheet to 20.
While Trump and his legal team tried to make the best of the situation this week, the only defense Rudy Giuliani could come up with was that Trump himself has not been indicted (yet), though legal experts say the charges against Cohen make Trump an unindicted co-conspirator in the illicit payment scheme.