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Rick Gates, Ex-Trump Aide and Key Witness for Mueller, to Be Sentenced Rick Gates, Ex-Trump Aide and Key Witness for Mueller, Is Sentenced to 45 Days in Jail
(about 7 hours later)
WASHINGTON — After helping bring down two former advisers to President Trump, the former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday morning for his part in a criminal financial scheme and for lying to federal investigators. WASHINGTON — Rick Gates, the former Trump campaign aide who helped bring down two former advisers to President Trump, was sentenced on Tuesday to 45 days in jail and a $20,000 fine for his part in a criminal financial scheme and for lying to federal investigators.
Mr. Gates, 47, is hoping that he will be spared a prison term because he cooperated extensively with the government after pleading guilty in February 2018. Mr. Gates, 47, can serve the jail time intermittently if he prefers, such as on weekends. He was also sentenced to three years of probation and 300 hours of community service. Mr. Gates had hoped to be spared a prison term in exchange for his extensive cooperation with the government after pleading guilty in February 2018.
Sentencing guidelines recommend that Mr. Gates, who was a deputy campaign chairman in 2016 and went on to help manage Mr. Trump’s inauguration, serve a prison term of 46 to 57 months. But the guidelines are only advisory. “I greatly regret the mistakes I have made and I have worked hard to honor my commitment to make amends,” he told Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia.
And legal experts said the fact that federal prosecutors are not opposing Mr. Gates’s request for probation sends a strong signal to the sentencing judge that the government does not want Mr. Gates to end up behind bars. Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia, who has overseen three cases in which Mr. Gates provided evidence for the government, will decide his punishment. Sentencing guidelines recommended that Mr. Gates, who was a deputy campaign chairman in 2016 and went on to help manage Mr. Trump’s inauguration, serve a prison term of 46 to 57 months. But the guidelines are only advisory.
“Probation is a very generous break, but it sounds like his cooperation has been extraordinary,” said Barbara McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor and former federal prosecutor who observed one trial in which Mr. Gates testified for the government. “I would guess the court would go along with that,” she said. Prosecutors, who did not oppose Mr. Gates’s request for probation, strongly urged the judge to take into account what they called Mr. Gates’s “extraordinary” efforts to help investigators on a variety of fronts, including with inquiries that remain secret.
“When the government is not opposing a term of probation, and somebody has helped the government as much as Gates has helped, most judges would agree to a term of probation,” said Chuck Rosenberg, a former federal prosecutor and senior F.B.I. official who has followed the Gates case. “He wholeheartedly held up his end of the bargain,” said Molly Gaston, an assistant United States attorney. She described his decision to cooperate just a few months after he was indicted as “a turning point” for the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Securing the cooperation of Mr. Gates was considered a coup for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, whose investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election bedeviled Mr. Trump for nearly two years before it ended last spring. Thomas C. Green, Mr. Gates’s lawyer, called his client’s cooperation over nearly two years “an amazing effort at redemption.”
Mr. Gates testified in two major trials that sprang from Mr. Mueller’s inquiry: the case against Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman who is now serving a prison term of more than seven years for tax fraud, bank fraud and other crimes, and the prosecution of Roger J. Stone Jr., Mr. Trump’s longtime friend who is awaiting sentencing on a conviction of lying to Congress. Legal experts said the fact that prosecutors did not oppose probation sent a strong signal to Judge Jackson that the government did not want Mr. Gates to end up behind bars.
Mr. Gates also testified against Gregory B. Craig, a well-known Washington lawyer who was acquitted on charges of deceiving federal authorities about his work with Mr. Manafort in Ukraine. Judge Jackson noted that she has overseen two trials in which Mr. Gates provided evidence for the government.
According to court filings, Mr. Gates met with F.B.I. agents and prosecutors roughly 50 times and provided information that was used in more than a dozen search warrants. He resisted “pressure not to cooperate with the government, including assurances of monetary assistance,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memorandum. “He came across to me as extremely candid,” she said. He accepted guilt for his own crimes without hesitation, she said, and did not embroider his testimony in an attempt to win favor with the government.
“Gates’s cooperation has been steadfast despite the fact that the government has asked for his assistance in high-profile matters against powerful individuals in the midst of a particularly turbulent environment,” they wrote. “He didn’t come across as some kind of prosecution puppet,” she said.
Securing the cooperation of Mr. Gates was considered a coup for the special counsel’s team, whose investigation bedeviled Mr. Trump for nearly two years before it ended last spring. Two key members of Mr. Mueller’s team, Andrew Weissmann and Greg D. Andres, attended the sentencing. Mr. Weissmann shook hands with Mr. Gates in the courtroom before the hearing began.
Mr. Green told Judge Jackson that F.B.I. agents were also in the courtroom. “I am quite certain they are here to acknowledge the genuine contributions that Mr. Gates made to their continuing investigations,” he said.
Mr. Gates testified in two major trials that sprang from Mr. Mueller’s inquiry. Ms. Gaston said his testimony was critical to the government’s case against Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman who is now serving a prison term of more than seven years for tax fraud, bank fraud and other crimes.
She said that Mr. Gates’s testimony also provided important context for jurors during the trial of Roger J. Stone Jr., Mr. Trump’s longtime friend who is awaiting sentencing on a conviction of lying to Congress and witness tampering.
Mr. Gates also testified against Gregory B. Craig, a well-known Washington lawyer who was acquitted on charges of deceiving federal authorities about his work with Mr. Manafort in Ukraine. Judge Jackson oversaw the trials of both Mr. Stone and Mr. Craig, as well as one of the two criminal cases against Mr. Manafort.
According to court filings, Mr. Gates met with F.B.I. agents and prosecutors roughly 50 times and provided information that was used in more than a dozen search warrants. His lawyer said he participated in more than 500 hours of interviews.
“Gates’s cooperation has been steadfast despite the fact that the government has asked for his assistance in high-profile matters against powerful individuals in the midst of a particularly turbulent environment,” the prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.
Ms. Gaston said that Mr. Gates withstood pressure from Mr. Manafort not to plead guilty, including assurances “that there would be a defense fund if Mr. Gates decided not to plead.” She also said that Mr. Gates’s wife is suffering from a serious illness, and that he is the primary caregiver for their four children.