Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates sentenced to 45-day jail term in Mueller probe
- Prison sentence needed to reflect seriousness of crimes, judge says, despite Gates’ ‘extraordinary’ cooperation with investigators
- Ex-campaign official provided key details as special counsel sought to determine whether Trump team coordinated with Russia in 2016 election
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former Trump campaign official Rick Gates to 45 days in jail despite what she said was “extraordinary” cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and other Justice Department investigations.
The jail sentence, which she said was needed to reflect the seriousness of his crimes, is to be served intermittently during three years of probation that the judge also imposed.
Prosecutors did not seek prison time for Gates, who pleaded guilty in February 2018 to charges relating to lucrative political consulting work he did in Ukraine.
They cited Gates’ cooperation, which included testifying in three trials, more than 50 meetings with the government, and a commitment to continue sharing information even after his sentence.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson commended Gates for his cooperation, describing it as an “important public service” that went to the heart of the central question that Mueller and his team sought to answer – whether President Donald Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election.