Article snippet: MORE’s investigation. It was a dramatic shift for MORE’s former campaign chairman, who just last month concluded a lengthy and dramatic trial that ended with a guilty verdict on eight charges and a deadlocked jury on 10 others. The plea deal he agreed to on Friday puts the kibosh on what would have been a second, more explosive trial slated to start in D.C. later this month. Here’s what you need to know about Manafort’s deal with the special counsel’s office. Manafort pleads guilty to serious crimes The ex-campaign chairman pleaded guilty to two felony charges — one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice for tampering with witnesses. Prosecutors said the conspiracy charge covered efforts to launder money, commit tax fraud, lie to federal officials and avoid the reporting of foreign bank accounts or registration as a lobbyist for a foreign country. Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said Manafort conspired with his former business partner Richard Gates and Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik to illegally lobby government officials on behalf of Ukraine’s government. The deal revealed a bombshell detail that one of the people Manafort represented managed to accompany a foreign prime minister into a 2013 Oval Office meeting with former President Obama and Vice President MORE. Prosecutors now will not have to decide whether to retry Manafort on the charges the Virginia jury couldn’t decide upon last month. Manafort adm... Link to the full article to read more