CLOSE New court filings from special counsel Robert Mueller outline the levels of cooperation from Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort. USA TODAY 
 
 President Donald Trump is pictured walking from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo: Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 WASHINGTON - The White House attempted to dismiss a barrage of new developments in the Russia investigation Friday, saying the updates were not "of value" and not related to the president. 
 
 President Donald Trump also posted on Twitter, appearing to feel vindicated after special counsel Robert Mueller released new details in the criminal cases against Paul Manafort, the president's former campaign chairman, and Michael Cohen, his former attorney and fixer. 
 
 "Totally clears the President. Thank you!" Trump said in a short post on Twitter. He didn't elaborate as to what he was referring to, though the timing of the tweet suggested he was reacting to the new information released in the investigation, which he's dubbed a "witch hunt." 
 
 The new information released by the New York prosecutors and Mueller's team, some of which was redacted and blacked out, did not accuse the president of colluding with Russia and did not reveal any new information as to whether the president was informed or played any role in the Russian effort to sow discord during the election. 
 
 But, the documents do show Trump's connection in some of the crimes, specifically alleging that the president directed Cohen to commit two felonies when he violated campaign finance laws. They also offer new insights as to the direction in which the probe is heading, something that could pose issues for the president and his family. 
 
 More: Robert Mueller: Cohen provided details 'core' to probe into Russian coordination with Trump campaign 
 
 More: Paul Manafort: Special counsel Robert Mueller details lies that doomed plea deal 
 
 Totally clears the President. Thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018 
 
 Trump Organization, the president's company, is mentioned several times, along with a possible deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Mueller's office seems to draw a connection to the deal, which continued during the 2016 election, and the Russian government's efforts to interrupt the election in favor of him. Both, the special counsel notes, were happening simultaneously. 
 
 The filings also include that Cohen was contacted by a Russian national as far back as 2015 in hopes of setting up a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, something that prosecutors note could have helped Trump's aspirations of building a Trump Tower in Moscow. The meeting never happened. 
 
 Mueller is still investigating Russian interference and large portions of his office's filings in recent days have been blacked out, a telling sign that there's more to come and details that have not been revealed to the public. 
 
 But the lack of a smoking gun being revealed or any substantial links between Russian collusion and the president were not lost with the White House. 
 
 “The government’s filing in Mr. Manafort’s case says absolutely nothing about the President," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. "It says even less about collusion and is devoted almost entirely to lobbying-related issues. Once again the media is trying to create a story where there isn’t one.” 
 
 Sanders claimed that there was nothing of value released in the 47 pages of documents released by both New York prosecutors and those working with Mueller's office. 
 
 "The government’s filings in Mr. Cohen’s case tell us nothing of value that wasn’t already known," she said. "Mr. Cohen has repeatedly lied and as the prosecution has pointed out to the court, Mr. Cohen is no hero." 
 
 Sanders didn't address the new revelations in the filings, specifically when it came to Cohen and the connections between Russia and the Trump Organization. 
 
 Contributing: Bart Jansen, David Jackson 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/07/donald-trump-feels-vindicated-after-robert-muellers-russia-updates/2245143002/ 

 Washington (CNN) Special counsel Robert Mueller said Friday that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied about five major issues after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, including his "contact with administration officials." 
 
 In a heavily redacted document, Mueller also said Manafort lied about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik. Mueller has said Kilimnik has ties to the Russian military intelligence unit accused of hacking the Democrats, and they've previously outlined how the two men may have worked together to tamper with witnesses following Manafort's arrest last year. 
 
 The accusations by Mueller add to growing signs that the special counsel's team has a wealth of evidence about contacts between people close to Trump -- even in the White House -- and Russians during the 2016 campaign. 
 
 The document also contains the stunning disclosure that Mueller can show, including with text messages, that Manafort was in contact with Trump administration officials early this year -- even after he was indicted in late 2017. 
 
 The new and damaging information for the White House comes at a time when every move by Mueller appears to bring his investigation deeper into the White House and Trump's inner circle, and shows it has expanded well beyond what may or may not have happened in the 2016 campaign. 
 
 Mueller last week accused Manafort of lying during his interviews, saying that his actions during his cooperation were criminal and breached his plea agreement. 
 
 The investigators also say they have evidence about electronic communications related to Kilimnik and travel records, and they make clear in the document they have investigated "meetings" between Manafort and Kilimnik. 
 
 The special counsel believes Manafort also lied about a wire transfer made to a firm he had working for him in 2017 and "information pertinent to another Department of Justice investigation." 
 
 The filing is the first time prosecutors have summarized why and how they believe Manafort breached his plea agreement. Previously, Mueller simply told a federal judge Manafort "committed federal crimes by lying" to the FBI and special counsel's office during his cooperation interviews "on a variety of subject matters." 
 
 Manafort says he has been truthful over several meetings with the special counsel's office. His lawyers indicated last week that they may challenge the assertion that he lied. 
 
 White House press secretary Sarah Sanders brushed off the filing from Mueller. 
 
 "The government's filing in Mr. Manafort's case says absolutely nothing about the President," Sanders said in a statement. "It says even less about collusion and is devoted almost entirely to lobbying-related issues. Once again the media is trying to create a story where there isn't one." 
 
 Prosecutors say Manafort lied about contacting officials 
 
 Mueller's team outlined how they believe Manafort lied "in multiple ways and on multiple occasions." 
 
 Manafort lied to the special counsel's office on contact with the administration this year, the document alleged. 
 
 He told a person via text message to talk to a Trump administration official in May, and separately he was in touch with the administration through February 2018, according to the document. 
 
 The prosecutors also cite "additional contacts with administration officials," citing "electronic documents" they have. 
 
 Manafort was indicted last October and has been in jail since June. 
 
 Manafort told Mueller's office after he began cooperating, he had "no direct or indirect communications with anyone in the administration while they were in the administration and that he never asked anyone to try to communicate a message to anyone in the administration on any subject matter." 
 
 Prosecutors cite evidence they have of Manafort's contacts with "administration officials," including one who is a "senior administration official," in February and May of this year. They cite text messages as evidence, and a description they have from "another Manafort colleague." 
 
 The filing from prosecutors Friday does not say what Manafort was attempting to discuss with the administration while he was facing multiple charges from Mueller. 
 
 Manafort allegedly lied about meetings with Russian associate 
 
 Mueller said on Friday that Manafort lied to investigators about his interactions with Kilimnik, his former business associate who has ties to Russian intelligence. Specifically, prosecutors discussed with Manafort more than one meeting he had with Kilimnik. 
 
 There are very few public details about their interactions. But questions of collusion have swirled around Kilimnik, given his longtime closeness to Manafort and his links to Russian intelligence agencies that were aggressively meddling in the election. Mueller's team said earlier this year that the FBI believes Kilimnik had active ties to Russian spies in 2016. 
 
 Prosecutors said they caught Manafort in lies about Kilimnik because they have "electronic communications" and "travel records." Mueller's team said they confronted Manafort with this evidence and he acknowledged his lies. But besides these breadcrumbs, critical parts from Friday's filing about Kilimnik were heavily redacted by Mueller's office. 
 
 The Washington Post reported last year that Manafort and Kilimnik met twice during the campaign. Manafort acknowledged to the Post that they discussed WikiLeaks releases against the Democratic National Committee because they were in the news at the time. Mueller's team said Friday that Manafort lied to them about a "meeting with Kilimnik," but that section is heavily redacted. 
 
 The Post also reported that Manafort and Kilimnik exchanged emails in 2016 about offering "private briefings" about the campaign to Oleg Deripaska, a prominent Russian oligarch. Manafort has said those briefings never occurred. 
 
 Kilimnik has denied working for Russian intelligence. Manafort denies colluding with any Russians. Kilimnik and Manafort were charged with obstruction of justice in June for trying to influence witnesses who could testify at Manafort's trial. Manafort pleaded guilty to obstruction in September, but Kilimnik lives safely in Russia, out of the reach of US courts. 
 
 What Manafort knows 
 
 The details of what happened during Manafort's cooperation interviews with the special counsel have been one of the most intensely pursued questions of the Russia probe -- from what Manafort knows, to what happened in recent weeks. Even President Donald Trump's lawyers have tried to stay in the loop regarding what he and Mueller's team spoke about. 
 
 Manafort has long been considered the key to several questions central to Mueller's investigation into Russia and the 2016 campaign. 
 
 Manafort attended the June 2016 campaign meeting at Trump Tower with Russians who had offered the campaign information on Hillary Clinton. His tenure on the campaign coincided with the Russian hackers' efforts to steal Democratic Party and Clinton campaign emails and distribute them publicly. He also led the campaign through the Republican National Convention, when the party decided to soften its stance on US assistance to Ukraine against Russian-backed militias. 
 
 At first last year, Mueller charged Manafort with crimes unrelated to his work as chairman of the Trump campaign. 
 
 But it later became clear the special counsel sought documents and information about Russians Manafort knew, including his longtime colleague Kilimnik and Deripaska, to whom Manafort owed millions. 
 
 Prosecutors have also looked for records Manafort may have had that showed possible campaign finance violations such as illegal contributions made from foreign nationals, according to search warrants of his condo. 
 
 Manafort's financial fraud trial centered around millions of dollars he earned doing Ukrainian political consulting years ago. Yet his trial on those charges veered toward his role on the Trump campaign when prosecutors alleged he used his proximity to Trump to secure a multi-million-dollar loan from a banker interested in being secretary of the Army or another top administration role. 
 
 What's to come 
 
 The failure of Manafort's cooperation could lead to more criminal charges, prosecutors have said. It also sets into motion a schedule that will lead up to his sentencing. 
 
 Manafort is now set to be the sixth Mueller defendant to face sentencing. 
 
 Both former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the federal government and will be sentenced separately in the next two weeks. 
 
 Three other less-high-profile defendants earned between two weeks and 6 months in prison. 
 
 Manafort is scheduled to receive his first sentence, for eight financial convictions decided by a Virginia jury, in early February. 
 
 His second sentencing date, before the judge who's handling the breach of his plea agreement, is tentatively set for early March. 
 
 For the two charges he currently faces in DC federal court, Manafort could receive 17 to 22 years in prison, his plea agreement says. 
 
 The last time Manafort was seen in public he entered court in a wheelchair, with a foot bandaged, apparently suffering from an illness similar to gout. That was about two months ago. 
 
 This story has been updated. 

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 FILE - In this June 21, 2017, file photo, special counsel Robert Mueller departs after a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mueller is set to reveal more details about his Russia investigation as... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this June 21, 2017, file photo, special counsel Robert Mueller departs after a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mueller is set to reveal more details about his Russia investigation as he faces court deadlines in the cases of two men who worked closely with President Donald Trump. (AP... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was in touch as far back as 2015 with a Russian who offered "political synergy" with the Trump election campaign and proposed a meeting between the candidate and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the federal special counsel said Friday. 
 
 Court filings from prosecutors in New York and special counsel Robert Mueller's office laid out previously undisclosed contacts between Trump associates and Russian intermediaries and suggested the Kremlin aimed early on to influence Trump and his campaign by playing to both his political aspirations and his personal business interests. 
 
 The filings, in cases involving Cohen and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort , capped a dramatic week of revelations in Mueller's probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. They bring the legal peril from multiple investigations closer than ever to Trump, tying him to an illegal hush money payment scheme and contradicting his claims that he had nothing to do with Russia. 
 
 They make clear how witnesses previously close to Trump — Cohen once declared he'd "take a bullet" for the president — have since provided damaging information about him in efforts to come clean to the government and in some cases get lighter prison sentences. 
 
 One defendant, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, provided so much information to prosecutors that Mueller this week said he shouldn't serve any prison time. 
 
 In hours of interviews with prosecutors, witnesses have offered up information about pivotal episodes under examination, including possible collusion with Russia and payments during the campaign to silence a porn star and Playboy model who said they had sex with Trump a decade earlier. 
 
 In one of the filings, Mueller details how Cohen spoke to a Russian who "claimed to be a 'trusted person' in the Russian Federation who could offer the campaign 'political synergy' and 'synergy on a government level.'" 
 
 The person repeatedly dangled a meeting between Trump and Putin, saying such a meeting could have a "phenomenal" impact "not only in political but in a business dimension as well." 
 
 That was a reference to a proposed Moscow real estate deal that prosecutors say could have netted Trump's business hundreds of millions of dollars. Cohen admitted last week to lying to Congress by saying discussions about a Trump Tower in Moscow ended in January 2016 when in fact they stretched into that June, well into the U.S. campaign. 
 
 Cohen told prosecutors he never followed up on the Putin invitation, though the offer bore echoes of a March 2016 proposal presented by Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who broached to other advisers the idea of a Putin encounter. 
 
 Prosecutors said probation officials recommended a sentence for Cohen of three-and-a-half years in prison. His lawyers want the 52-year-old attorney to avoid prison time altogether. 
 
 In an additional filing Friday evening, prosecutors said Manafort lied about his contacts with a Russian associate and Trump administration officials, including in 2018. 
 
 The court papers say Manafort initially told prosecutors he didn't have contact with any people while they were in the Trump administration. But prosecutors say they recovered "electronic documents" showing contacts with multiple administration officials not identified in the filings. 
 
 Manafort, who has pleaded guilty to several counts, violated his plea agreement by telling "multiple discernible lies" to prosecutors, they said. 
 
 Manafort resigned from his job on the Trump campaign as questions swirled about his lobbying work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. 
 
 Prosecutors in Cohen's case said that even though he cooperated in their investigation into potential campaign finance violations, he nonetheless deserved prison time. Though he has portrayed himself as cooperative, "his description of those efforts is overstated in some respects and incomplete in others," prosecutors said. 
 
 "After cheating the IRS for years, lying to banks and to Congress, and seeking to criminally influence the Presidential election, Cohen's decision to plead guilty - rather than seek a pardon for his manifold crimes - does not make him a hero," they wrote. 
 
 Cohen, dubbed Trump's "legal fixer" in the past, also described his work in conjunction with Trump in orchestrating hush money payments to two women — adult actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal — who said they had sex with Trump. 
 
 Prosecutors in New York, where Cohen pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance crimes in connection with those payments, said the lawyer "acted in coordination and at the direction" of Trump. Though Cohen had previously implicated Trump in the payments, the prosecutors now are linking Trump to the scheme and backing up Cohen's allegations. 
 
 Federal law requires that any payments made "for the purposes of influencing" an election must be reported in campaign finance disclosures. The court filing Friday makes clear that the payments were made to benefit Trump politically. 
 
 Trump tried to brush off Friday's revelations, claiming wrongly on Twitter that the news "Totally clears the President. Thank you!" 
 
 A court filing also reveals that Cohen told prosecutors he and Trump discussed a potential meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in 2015, shortly after Trump announced his candidacy for president. In a footnote Mueller's team writes that Cohen conferred with Trump "about contacting the Russia government before reaching out to gauge Russia's interest in such a meeting." It never took place. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister in New York and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report 

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– All eyes were on three new filings related to the Russia probe, dropped Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller's team and New York prosecutors, and related to two men: former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen. One person seemingly not fazed by the details: the president himself, per USA Today. "Totally clears the President. Thank you!" Trump tweeted Friday evening, not directly citing what he was talking about, but widely believed to be about the court reveals, as they started circulating right around the time of his tweet. He doubled down on Saturday morning, tweeting: "AFTER TWO YEARS AND MILLIONS OF PAGES OF DOCUMENTS (and a cost of over $30,000,000), NO COLLUSION!." Although some portions of the documents were redacted, one part in particular is catching people's attention: where it's alleged Trump coordinated with and directed Cohen to commit two campaign finance felonies. Also of note is that a Russian national is alleged to have touched base with Cohen as far back as 2015 to try to set up a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin; the meeting never came to be, per the documents. What's being said about the filings and what they could mean for Trump: The catchphrase that's making waves online about that Russian national: that that person was pushing "political synergy" and "synergy on a government level" to the Trump campaign, per the AP. Some online noted that "political synergy" sounds like a "polite way of saying collusion." The Washington Post notes the court papers "directly [implicate]" Trump in efforts "to buy women's silence" going back to 2014, and that new evidence has now been offered that shows Russia's attempts "to forge a political alliance with Trump before he became president—disclosures that show the deepening political and legal morass enveloping the administration." Also from the Post: "five big takeaways," including that Mueller "appears to be keying [in] on Russia ties in Trump's business."