First Indictments Issued In Mueller Investigation: Federal indictments came down Monday against Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, and Rick Gates, another Trump campaign aide, charging them with money laundering and acting as unregistered agents of Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government. George Papadopoulos, a third Trump adviser, pled guilty earlier this month to lying to the FBI. Both Manafort and Gates pled not guilty to the charges, which represent the first of perhaps many as Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues his investigation into alleged Russian efforts that favored Trump in the 2016 presidential election, and the potential collusion by Trump aides. The judge set bond at $10 million for Manafort and $5 million for Gates. The men are currently allowed to remain at their homes, under house arrest. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders did her best to play down any perceived connection to the administration, saying the indictment had nothing to do with Trump or his campaign and showed no evidence of complicity between the campaign and Russia.
Incumbent Wins in Kenya’s Election Redo: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was re-elected for a second term after garnering more than 98% of the vote in a highly contentious rerun election that was boycotted by his main rival, Raila Odinga, who garnered just 0.96% of the vote. Turnout for the election–in which voting had been indefinitely suspended in several constituencies–was low, with just 38% of the country’s 19.6 million registered voters casting a ballot. Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman said that he was confident that the voting body had delivered “a free, fair and credible election.” The opposition parties, including Odinga’s National Super Alliance coalition, have seven days to contest the result by launching a legal challenge. The courts then have 14 days in which to rule on such petitions.
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