Washington, November 2 (RHC)-- In the United States, special counsel Robert Mueller is continuing to widen his investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election, with plans to interview Trump’s current communications director, Hope Hicks, and multiple other current White House officials.  Hicks has reportedly already retained a personal lawyer. 

The expansion of the investigation comes after Mueller announced the first indictments in the investigation, charging Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort and his former business associate Rick Gates with 12 counts, including money laundering and conspiracy against the United States. 

Both men surrendered themselves to the FBI Monday, and they are now under house arrest.  New revelations show that Manafort had three different U.S. passports, each with different numbers.  Rick Gates had 55 different bank accounts with 13 different banks, including some based in Cyprus and Britain. 

U.S. President Donald Trump is also trying to discredit and diminish the significance of a third former Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty in early October to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with investigators in exchange for a more lenient sentence.  From the White House, Trump tweeted: “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar.”