*By Carlo Versano*
President Trump's former campaign chair Paul Manafort is, as of Friday, the latest of the president's ex-associates to plead guilty to felony charges.
Manafort was convicted in federal court in August of eight financial fraud charges, though "this is the first time time Paul Manafort has ever admitted to committing a crime," Ben Dreyfuss, editorial director of Mother Jones, said.
Friday's plea deal was related to a separate set of charges for which the former political consultant was awaiting trial.
As part of the plea, Manafort will cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
That is "massive news," Dreyfuss said.
Trump praised Manafort as a "brave man" when he was found guilty of bank and tax fraud last month ー roughly the same hour when Trump's former consigliere Michael Cohen was offering to cooperate, much to the chagrin of the president.
Manafort's lawyer said Friday his client had offered "full cooperation," though as Dreyfuss noted, no details have been made public yetー and what specifically Manafort could offer prosecutors remains unknown.
"No one knows what he could say except for Trump himself," Dreyfuss said.
The CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google have received a hectoring from Republicans at a Senate hearing for alleged anti-conservative bias in the companies’ social media platforms. And
Cheddar's Megan Pratz was serving as Vice President Mike Pence's pool reporter as news broke that members of his team tested positive for the coronavirus.
Big tech CEOs are gearing up to testify in Washington as lawmakers prepare to take action on tech liability. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Cheddar to discuss.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat, joined Cheddar to discuss what he feels is the need for Joe Biden to win the November election as the country faces the climate crisis.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has declared Japan will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 in his first policy speech since taking over from Shinzo Abe.
Amy Coney Barrett is headed to to the Supreme Court. The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee, with Republicans overpowering Democratic opposition a week before Election Day.
Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in nearly every state, despite assurances from President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif. 3rd District) joined Cheddar to discuss a new bill he is lobbying for that would bring more shipbuilding to the U.S.
The United States is approaching a record for the number of new daily coronavirus cases in the latest ominous sign of the disease’s grip on the nation.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
