Ex-Trump aide Gates pleads guilty in deal with special counsel

Alex van der Zwaan arrives at a plea agreement hearing at the D.C. federal courthouse in Washington, U.S., February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former senior official in Donald Trump's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators, and is cooperating with a federal probe into Russia's role in the election.

The office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller told a federal court that Mueller would consider petitioning for Gates, a former deputy campaign manager for Trump, to serve a shorter sentence if he cooperates with the investigation.

Sentencing guidelines call for him to serve a prison term between 57 months and 71 months for the charges he pleaded guilty to. Gates was facing a series of more serious charges before Friday's plea.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Frances Kerry)