In a May 2016 interview with Robert Peston, Farage said that, whilst he had reservations on the views and character of 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, if he were an eligible US voter he would vote for Trump in 2016 presidential election, to prevent Hillary Clinton becoming president. In July 2016, Farage visited the Republican convention in Cleveland with his aide and office manager George Cottrell. Both Farage and Cottrell appeared on American television and engaged in discussions with Trump's aides before Cottrell was arrested by the FBI on 21 federal counts of fraud, money laundering and extortion. Farage "was unaware of Cottrell's alleged illegal activities and his arrest by the FBI came as a shock." Cottrell's arrest left Farage unable to access his personal diary. Cottrell ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud as part of a plea agreement with U.S. federal prosecutors and was sentenced to eight months in U.S. federal prison and was fined $30,000; the crime had been committed before Cottrell joined UKIP.