Report: Gates close to plea deal with Mueller

Rick Gates, the Paul Manafort associate and former Trump campaign adviser who was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller last fall, "is finalizing a plea deal" with Mueller, CNN reports.

Gates spoke to the special counsel team during an interview in which he had to answer questions "about his own case and other potential criminal activity he witnessed," CNN reports. A White House official told CNN that "[t]here'd be no anxiety here" if Gates cut a deal.

• Why it matters: Gates would be the third person indicted in Mueller's investigation to strike a deal, and the move could turn up the heat on Manafort to cooperate.
• Go deeper: Meet Rick Gates.