Gates pleaded guilty to two felony counts in February 2018.
December 17, 2019, 4:51 PM
5 min read
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Rick Gates, Donald Trump’s former deputy campaign manager, to 36 months of probation, 45 days in "intermittent confinement" on weekends, 300 hours of community service and $20,000 in fines at a hearing in Washington, D.C., after he cooperated with prosecutors.
The special counsel's office had charged Gates and his former business partner, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, in 2017 with crimes including lying to the government about his foreign lobbying work in Ukraine, tax evasion and money laundering.
Gates subsequently struck a plea deal with Mueller prosecutors in late February 2018, pleading guilty to two felony counts: conspiracy against the U.S. and lying to federal authorities about a laundry list of items related to the work he and Manafort did in Ukraine.
Rick Gates, former campaign aide to President Donald Trump, arrives for his sentencing at district court in Washington, Dec. 17, 2019.
Rick Gates, former campaign aide to President Donald Trump, arrives for his sentencing at district court in Washington, Dec. 17, 2019.Alexander Drago/Reuters
In a sentencing memo last week, federal prosecutors wrote they did not oppose Gates’ request to not be incarcerated and to be sentenced to probation instead due to his extensive cooperation and testimony in three trials stemming from the Mueller probe.
The prosecution also requested the court require "Gates' continued cooperation a condition of his sentence." According to the government's sentencing memo, information provided by Gates has been used in more than a dozen search warrants, and included Gates providing truthful and valuable information in "a number of different ongoing matters."
Gates testified against Manafort during his jury trial in Virginia in August 2018. Manafort is serving jail time after being found guilty of eight counts of financial crimes as part of the first major prosecution won by Mueller's office.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrives to the courtroom as he is arraigned at the New York Supreme Court in New York, June 27, 2019.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrives to the courtroom as he is arraigned at the New York Supreme Court in New York, June 27, 2019.Eduardo Munoz/Reuters, FILE
In August, Gates testified at the trial of former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig, who was accused of lying to the government about his foreign lobbying work in Ukraine. Craig was ultimately acquitted.
The final leg of Gates' cooperation deal was to testify as a government witness in longtime Trump confidant and one-time campaign aide Roger Stone's trial last month. Stone was indicted in January on seven counts brought against him by Mueller's team including obstructing an official proceeding, five counts of lying to Congress, and one count of witness tampering.
Gates testified during Stone's trial that the Trump campaign had a keen interest in the anticipated release of stolen emails from Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party prior to the 2016 election, and that he was in touch with Stone about Wikileaks.
Gates said then-campaign chairman Manafort instructed him to keep in touch with Stone "from time to time" and report back on the status of WikiLeaks’ releases. According to Gates, Manafort said he would then pass along that information to campaign officials and “the candidate himself,” referring to Trump.
Gates also testified in late July of 2016, after WikiLeaks released information about Clinton, he overheard a conversation between Stone and then-candidate Trump. After the phone call, Gates said Trump "indicated that more information would be coming."
Stone, who had pleaded not guilty, was found guilty on all charges on Nov. 15. His sentencing is scheduled for early February.
