Jan 15, 2019

Manafort allegedly used intermediaries to get people appointed to Trump admin

Zachary Basu

Paul Manafort. Photo: Mark Wilson via Getty Images

Special counsel Robert Mueller revealed Tuesday that in January 2017, Paul Manafort allegedly told his deputy Rick Gates that he was "using intermediaries, including [redacted] to get people appointed in the Administration."

The big picture: The detail is included in a heavily redacted new court filing that outlines the alleged lies Manafort told investigators that caused him to breach his plea deal. Mueller alleges Manafort lied when he said he had "no direct or indirect communications with anyone in the Administration" and about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik — a suspected Russian intelligence operative who has emerged as a key figure in the Mueller investigation.

Go deeper: Manafort allegedly lied about sharing 2016 polling data with Kilimnik

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Axios

Coronavirus spreads to more countries, and U.S. ups its case count

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus continues to spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting those are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the U.S. Meanwhile, Italy reported its first virus-related death on Friday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,359 people and infected more than 77,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel, Lebanon and Iran.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 3 hours ago - Health
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Orion Rummler

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $3 billion to settle consumer abuse charges

Clients use an ATM at a Wells Fargo Bank in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo: Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Wells Fargo agreed to a pay a combined $3 billion to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for opening millions of fake customer accounts between 2002 and 2016, the SEC said in a press release.

The big picture: The fine "is among the largest corporate penalties reached during the Trump administration," the Washington Post reports.

Go deeperArrow5 hours ago - Economy & Business