Manafort plea live updates: Former Trump aide appears in court and pleads guilty after cooperation deal to avoid trial in Mueller Russia investigation

Hello and welcome to our coverage of Paul Manafort's expected guilty plea ahead of his second criminal trial.

A new criminal filing from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office has reduced the number of charges against the former Donald Trump campaign chairman from seven to two.

The charges include conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice. 

Here is our latest on the new developments:

Manafort is due in court in Washington DC later this morning.

The big question is whether Manafort will cooperate with the Mueller probe into Russian election meddling and possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

No word on that yet.

Manafort's decision could be a blow to Mr Trump, who last month praised his former aide for not entering into an agreement with prosecutors, as the president's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen had in separate case.

Writing on Twitter on 22 August, the president said: "Unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' - make up stories in order to get a 'deal. Such respect for a brave man!"

A Virginia jury convicted Manafort last month on bank and tax fraud charges.

Jury selection was due to begin on Monday in a second trial on charges including conspiring to launder money, conspiring to defraud the United States, failing to register as a foreign agent and witness tampering.

The charges related to money gained from political consultancy work in Ukraine.

Manafort is expected to forfeit some of his property once a guilty plea is entered.

Details relating to first guilty plea, state: From in or about and between 2006 and 2017, both dates being approximate and inclusive, in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, the defendant PAUL J. MANAFORT, JR., together with others, including Gates and Kilimnik, knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud the

United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful governmental functions of a government agency, namely the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury, and to commit offenses against the United States, to wit, (a) money laundering (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956); (b) tax fraud (in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1)); (c) failing to file Foreign Bank Account Reports (in violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5312 and 5322(b)); (d) violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (in violation of 22 U.S.C. §§ 612, 618(a)(1), and 618(a)(2));

33 and (e) lying and misrepresenting to the Department of Justice (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a) and 22 U.S.C. §§ 612 and 618(a)(2))

Details of the second plea, to witness tampering, say: From in or about and between February 23, 2018 and April 2018, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the District of Columbia and elsewhere, the defendant PAUL J.

MANAFORT, JR., together with others, including Konstantin Kilimnik, knowingly and

intentionally conspired to corruptly persuade another person, to wit: Persons D1 and D2, with intent to influence, delay and prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(1).