--- title: Michael Flynn Joins List of Trump Allies Charged With Crimes description: Michael Flynn, who has been charged with lying to the FBI, is the fourth person in President Trump's orbit to face legal trouble. canonical: https://time.com/5044879/donald-trump-aides-charged-investigation/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-01T16:16:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T23:55:31.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Everyone in Donald Trump's Orbit Who Has Been Charged by Robert Mueller og:description: Including Michael Flynn, who is expected to plead guilty Friday. og:url: https://time.com/5044879/donald-trump-aides-charged-investigation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c003b9ac4615baf/6988d200cf40a831e8c48288/gettyimages-634600128.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3580 og:image:height: 2014 og:image:alt: President Trump Holds Joint Press Conference With Japanese PM Shinzo Abe og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Everyone in Donald Trump's Orbit Who Has Been Charged by Robert Mueller twitter:description: Including Michael Flynn, who is expected to plead guilty Friday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c003b9ac4615baf/6988d200cf40a831e8c48288/gettyimages-634600128.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Everyone in Donald Trump's Orbit Who Has Been Charged by Robert Mueller > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:55 PM UTCPublished: Dec 1, 2017 4:16 PM UTC  National Security Adviser Michael Flynn sits before U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a joint press conference at the White House on February 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. Mario Tama—Getty Images National Security Adviser Michael Flynn sits before U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a joint press conference at the White House on February 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. Mario Tama—Getty Images Mario Tama—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:55 PM UTCPublished: Dec 1, 2017 4:16 PM UTC [Michael Flynn](http://time.com/5012230/who-is-michael-flynn/) is the fourth person in President Donald Trump’s orbit to face legal trouble related to the campaign or their time in the White House. The former campaign adviser and national security advisor [pleaded guilty](http://fortune.com/2017/12/01/michael-flynn-charged/?utm%5Fcampaign=time&utm%5Fsource=twitter.com&utm%5Fmedium=social&xid=time%5Fsocialflow%5Ftwitter) to making false statements to the FBI Friday as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Here’s a look at everyone in Trump’s circle who has been charged so far. ## Michael Flynn  National Security Adviser Michael Flynn during the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, DC on Feb. 1, 2017. The Washington Post/Getty Images A retired Army lieutenant general, Michael Flynn was a surrogate during Trump’s presidential campaign and later served as national security advisor. He was [ousted from the role](http://time.com/4670930/white-house-president-trump-asked-for-flynns-resignation/) after only 24 days, however, amid claims that he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russians during the presidential transition. The special counsel’s office charged Flynn with one count of making false statements, writing in a court document that he “did willfully and knowingly make materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations” to the FBI about his contacts with the Russians. Flynn pleaded guilty on Dec. 1. ## George Papadopoulos  George Papadopoulos in London. The former Trump campaign aide and foreign policy adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Kremlin-related contacts, and more specifically on a Moscow-linked professor who was offering "dirt" on Trump's election rival Hillary Clinton. AFP/Getty Images [Papadopoulos](http://time.com/5002832/george-papadopoulos-guilty-plea-indictment/) was a relatively minor player in Trump’s orbit, but the first to plead guilty to charges. He served on the president’s foreign policy team and Trump once highlighted him in [a Washington _Post_ interview](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-low-level-volunteer-papadopoulos-sought-high-profile-as-trump-adviser/2017/10/31/dc737a42-be5f-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.c8132c6caa9b), but after Mueller announced charges, [the White House said](http://time.com/5002803/george-papadopoulos-guilty-donald-trump/) Papadopoulos was a volunteer with an “extremely limited role.” [Papadopoulos pleaded guilty](http://time.com/5002281/george-papadopoulos-trump-guilty-russia%5F%5Ftrashed/) on Oct. 5 to one count of lying to the FBI about his dealings with “foreign nationals” who he believed to be connected to Russian government officials. ## Paul Manafort  Paul Manafort in April 2016, in New York Bloomberg/Getty Images [Manafort](http://time.com/5002225/robert-mueller-indictments-paul-manafort/) is a veteran lobbyist who was hired by the Trump campaign in 2016 to spearhead operations at the Republican National Convention. He was only working for the campaign for a few months before he was let go after his name appeared on a Ukrainian ledger detailing secret payments. Mueller’s team charged him with [12 counts](http://time.com/5002070/paul-manafort-charged-donald-trump-robert-mueller%5F%5Ftrashed/) including conspiracy, money laundering, [failure to register as a foreign agent](http://time.com/5002606/foreign-agents-registration-act-paul-manafort/) and failing to report foreign bank accounts to the federal government. He pleaded not guilty. ## Rick Gates  Republican nominee Donald Trump speaks with Rick Gates at the Republican Convention, July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Brooks Kraft—Getty Images [Gates](http://time.com/5002847/rick-gates-paul-manafort/) was charged alongside Manafort. The two are longtime lobbying associates, and Gates joined the Trump campaign when Manafort did. Gates reportedly worked on Trump’s inaugural committee and later helped launch the pro-Trump group America First Strategies. The [indictment](http://time.com/5002178/paul-manafort-rick-gates-read-indictment/) against the two men says Gates worked closely with Manafort on crimes to promote foreign interests and avoid paying U.S. taxes. 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