Feb. 20 (UPI) — Special counsel Robert Mueller has charged an attorney with lying to the FBI and his office during its probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Alex Van Der Zwaan, a prominent New York attorney, faces a charge of “willfully and knowingly making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements.”
According to the indictment unsealed Tuesday, Van Der Zwaan made false statements regarding his work with a law firm on behalf of Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice in 2012 to prepare a report on the trial of Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko.
Van Der Zwaan, who was charged Friday, also communicated with Richard Gates, a business associate of President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.
Gates and Manafort were indicted in October by a federal grand jury on charges that included conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy against the United States and failing to register as foreign agents of Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government.
Van Der Zwaan is expected to plead guilty in a Washington federal court Tuesday afternoon.
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