Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates was sentenced to 45 days in prison — to be served on weekends — on Tuesday in a Washington, D.C. federal court, Axios reports.
He also received three years of probation and a $20,000 fine.
To Plea or Not to Plea
Out this week: To Plea or Not to Plea: The Story of Rick Gates and the Mueller Investigation by Daphne Barak.
The book reveals why Rick Gates pled guilty in the Mueller probe and the lasting repercussions of this ordeal.
House Intelligence Subpoenas Flynn, Gates
The House Intelligence Committee said that it “had issued two new subpoenas demanding that Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, and Rick Gates, a former top Trump campaign aide, provide testimony and documents related to their interactions with Russians,” the New York Times reports.
Gates Still Cooperating with Government
Rick Gates, who worked on President Trump’s campaign and inauguration, “is still cooperating with the government and shouldn’t be sentenced yet for his guilty plea to conspiracy,” Bloomberg reports.
Politico: “Gates could get tapped as a witness in the Justice Department’s cases against both former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig and longtime Trump associate Roger Stone.”
Manafort Told Gates Trump ‘Would Take Care of Us’
After a grand jury indicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, Manafort told Gates that it was stupid to plead because he had spoken to the president’s personal attorney and they were “going to take care of us,” the Washington Post reports.
Gates, who cooperated with Mueller, told investigators that Manafort told him that he thought they should “sit tight” and “we’ll be taken care of.”
Gates Asked Not to Cooperate with Congressional Probe
A lawyer for former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates said he has been advised by prosecutors not to cooperate with the congressional investigation, Politico reports.
“The decision to delay immediate cooperation with the Democrat-led investigation comes days after Mueller signaled that Gates is still cooperating in multiple investigations. Gates was a key witness in the Virginia trial of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort last summer.”
Key Manafort Meeting at Center of Russia Investigation
The Washington Post details a meeting between Paul Manafort, then Trump’s campaign chairman, Rick Gates, his deputy, and a former business partner of Manafort’s named Konstantin Kilimnik.
“The Aug. 2, 2016, encounter between the senior Trump campaign officials and Kilimnik, who prosecutors allege has ties to Russian intelligence, has emerged in recent days as a potential fulcrum in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. It was at that meeting that prosecutors believe Manafort and Kilimnik may have exchanged key information relevant to Russia and Trump’s presidential bid.”
The meeting ended “with the three men leaving through separate doors” so they wouldn’t be seen together.
Gates Tells Mueller About Dealings With Israeli Firm
“Rick Gates, the former campaign aide to Donald Trump, is cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into whether individuals from the Middle East worked with the Trump campaign to influence the election,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Gates has answered questions specifically about Psy Group, an Israeli firm that ex-employees say drew up social media manipulation plans to help the Trump campaign… Mueller’s team also asked Gates about interactions with Psy Group’s owner, Joel Zamel, and Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, who worked as an emissary for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”
Gates Still Cooperating with Mueller Probe
“Former Trump campaign aide Richard Gates is still cooperating with federal prosecutors on ‘several ongoing investigations,’ according to a status report filed by special counsel Robert Mueller and Gates’ defense attorneys on Tuesday,” The Hill reports.
“The parties are asking a federal judge to again delay Gates’ sentencing, nearly a year after he pleaded guilty in connection with Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.”
Trump Campaign Aide Sought Online Manipulation Plans
Trump deputy campaign manager Rick Gates “requested proposals in 2016 from an Israeli company to create fake online identities, to use social media manipulation and to gather intelligence to help defeat Republican primary race opponents and Hillary Clinton,” the New York Times reports.
“The Trump campaign’s interest in the work began as Russians were escalating their effort to aid Donald Trump. Though the Israeli company’s pitches were narrower than Moscow’s interference campaign and appear unconnected, the documents show that a senior Trump aide saw the promise of a disruption effort to swing voters in Mr. Trump’s favor.”
Gates May Still Be Cooperating
CNN: “A court filing from special counsel Robert Mueller signals that Rick Gates may be assisting the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election beyond the case against Paul Manafort. In a filing Thursday, Mueller’s team said it wanted to keep a discussion between trial attorneys and Judge T.S. Ellis regarding a question to Gates secret because the transcript of the conversation would ‘reveal details of the ongoing investigation.”
“When Gates pleaded guilty and flipped on Manafort in February, he also agreed to help the special counsel with its investigation into Russian election interference as he was needed. It’s unclear how he has aided the special counsel’s probe beyond the Manafort case, but Gates was a deputy to Manafort on the Trump campaign and worked on the transition and presidential inauguration.”
Gates Admits to ‘Secret Life’ and Extramarital Affair
Washington Post: “The most jarring testimony Tuesday came when Paul Manafort’s lawyer Kevin Downing got his turn to question Gates. ‘There was another Richard Gates, isn’t that right? A secret Richard Gates?’ Downing asked.”
“Gates, who seemed to immediately understand the lawyer’s hint, began speaking in a quiet, strained voice, saying that about 10 years ago, he had ‘another relationship’ — an extramarital affair.”
“Asked if that affair had taken place in London, Gates said it had occurred there and other places. For around two months, Gates said, he had kept a separate apartment in London. Under questioning, he admitted he had also flown first class and stayed in luxury hotels as part of that relationship.”
“Gates also testified that he had used money embezzled from Manafort to help fund his relationship.”
Gates Testifies He Committed Crimes With Manafort
Rick Gates testified that he and Paul Manafort held 15 foreign bank accounts that were not disclosed to the federal government, the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Gates admitted to a wide variety of crimes, including bank fraud, tax fraud, money laundering, lying to federal authorities, lying in a court deposition and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mr. Manafort’s accounts by falsely claiming expenses.”
“While giving testimony, Mr. Gates was grim and sober-faced, frequently looking down or straight ahead — but never looking at Mr. Manafort. Mr. Manafort stared back at Mr. Gates.”
Washington Post: “Repeatedly, Gates insisted that most of his crimes were committed at Manafort’s explicit instruction. At one point, he rattled off the names of a dozen overseas companies he said Manafort controlled; on prompting from prosecutors he identified three more.”
Manafort Trial Begins This Week
Associated Press: “The trial, scheduled to begin Tuesday with jury selection in Alexandria, Virginia, will give the public its most detailed glimpse of evidence Mueller’s team has spent the year accumulating. It will feature testimony about the business dealings and foreign ties of a defendant Trump entrusted to run his campaign during a critical stretch in 2016, including during the Republican convention. And it will unfold at a delicate time for the president as Mueller’s team presses for an interview and as Trump escalates his attacks on an investigation he calls a ‘witch hunt.’”
“Adding to the intrigue is the expected spectacle of Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates, testifying against him after cutting a plea deal with prosecutors, and the speculation that Manafort, who faces charges in two different courts and decades in prison if convicted, may be holding out for a pardon from Trump.”
Washington Post: The spectacular rise and fall of Paul Manafort.
Mueller Pushed for Gates’ Help on Collusion
“Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team last year made clear it wanted former Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates’ help, not so much against his former business partner Paul Manafort, but with its central mission: investigating the Trump campaign’s contact with the Russians,” CNN reports.
“Mueller’s team alleges that Gates was in contact with a close colleague of Manafort’s who worked for a Russian intelligence agency — and that Gates knew of the spy service ties in September and October 2016, while he worked on the Trump campaign. Gates would have to talk about the communication with the man if prosecutors wanted.”
Mueller Links Trump Aide to Russian Intel Network
“The special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election revealed Tuesday night that prosecutors say they have connected former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates to a person with ties to a Russian intelligence service while Gates worked on the campaign,” CNN reports.
“That Gates and the unnamed person, who had lived in Kiev and Moscow and worked for one of Paul Manafort’s companies, were in touch in September and October 2016 was ‘pertinent to the investigation.'”
Washington Post: “The allegations underscore Mueller’s interest in Manafort and Gates, who continued to interact with business associates in Ukraine even as they helped lead Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.”
Mueller Moves to Dismiss Charges Against Gates
Special counsel Robert Mueller “has moved to drop charges that were brought last week in an expansive superseding indictment against Rick Gates,” Axios reports.
“Mueller’s decision to drop the more expansive charges against Gates suggests that he may have provided good information for Mueller’s probe. Gates still faces an advisory sentence of 57 to 71 months under his guilty plea, per Bloomberg, but it’s worth nothing that the ‘prosecution can request a shorter sentence but isn’t required to do so.'”
Gates Admits Lying About Rohrabacher Dinner
“Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates just admitted to lying to U.S. investigators about a March 19, 2013, meeting between his boss, Paul Manafort, and an unidentified U.S. congressman. Public filings show a meeting that day between Manafort and Dana Rohrabacher, a Russia-friendly Republican congressman from California,” Bloomberg reports.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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