Politics: We just got a sign that Rick Gates could be seeking a plea deal with Mueller

Attorneys representing Gates requested that they be removed as counsel in a court filing published on Thursday.

• A group of lawyers representing Rick Gates, one of Paul Manafort's longtime associates who is facing money laundering charges in the Russia investigation, has quit the case, effective immediately.
• The attorneys filed the request on Thursday, according to a court document. The reason for their withdrawal was not immediately known.
• The development could signal that Gates may seek a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller.

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Lawyers representing Rick Gates, the longtime associate of Paul Manafort, who is facing money laundering charges in the Russia investigation, have quit the case, effective immediately.

Gates' counsel filed the request on Thursday according to a court document. The reason for their withdrawal was not immediately known, but the document cites information that is currently the subject of a motion which remains under court seal.

Gates and Manafort in October were hit with money laundering charges and for failure to register as foreign agents. Both have pleaded not guilty.

The men have been central figures in the Russia probe, in which US prosecutors are investigating whether the Trump campaign cooperated with the Kremlin in an effort to help get Donald Trump elected in 2016.

The development follows a report last month that indicated Gates added the white-collar attorney Tom Green to his defense team. An unnamed source cited by CNN said the move could suggest that negotiations between Gates' legal counsel and special counsel Robert Mueller were ongoing.

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti told Business Insider on Thursday that "it's likely Gates is leaning towards a plea deal."

Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor who has previously worked with some of Mueller's investigators, said the withdrawal could be a "prelude to a plea."

Cotter said that, if Gates is indeed vying for a deal, it is possible that the now-withdrawn attorneys simply did not want to be associated with a client who capitulated to Mueller. "Some lawyers just don't like to be known as someone who lets their clients cooperate; bad for business," Cotter said.

Attorneys representing Gates requested that they be removed as counsel in a court filing published on Thursday. Read Full Story