Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates hires new lawyers

Rick Gates departs US District Court after he and Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort attended a hearing in the first charges stemming from a special counsel investigation of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election in Washington, US on Oct 30, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates has hired new lawyers to defend him in a case brought by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating campaign ties to Russia.

Gates will be represented in a hearing in US District Court in Washington, DC, on Thursday (Nov 2) afternoon by lawyer Shan Wu, according to a statement from the aide's spokesman, Glenn Selig.

Gates and former campaign manager Paul Manafort were indicted on Monday (Oct 30) on charges of money laundering and failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts and register as foreign agents of Ukraine's former pro-Russia government.

Also joining Gates' defense team are New York lawyer Walter Mack and Annemarie McAvoy, a former federal prosecutor who specialises in financial crime issues.

Gates was represented at the arraignment on Monday by a public defender.

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