Washington — Rick Gates, the former Trump campaign official and onetime business partner of Paul Manafort, arrived in federal court Tuesday to learn his sentence on counts of conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.
Gates, 47, was one of six Trump associates charged in connection to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He pleaded guilty to two counts in February 2018, admitting he lied to federal investigators and helped Manafort conceal millions of dollars in overseas payments. Gates agreed to cooperate with the government, becoming the star witness in high-profile trials of three others charged in the Mueller probe: Manafort, Roger Stone and Greg Craig.
Because of his extensive cooperation with the government, federal prosecutors recommended that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentence Gates to probation, a much lighter punishment than the maximum 10 years in prison the charges allowed under federal guidelines.
Gates was Manafort’s right-hand man and became his deputy when Manafort was named chairman of the Trump campaign in 2016. After Manafort was forced to step down over revelations about his work in Ukraine, Gates stayed on, becoming a liaison between the campaign and the Republican National Committee. He helped plan President Trump’s inauguration before leaving for a job with a pro-Trump outside group.
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At Manafort’s trial on charges of bank fraud and other financial crimes, Gates provided crucial testimony against his former boss, telling jurors Manafort had instructed him to forge financial documents and IRS forms.
In the case of former Trump adviser Roger Stone, Gates testified he overheard a phone call between Stone and then-candidate Trump talking about Wikileaks in July 2016. Stone was convicted of seven charges at trial in November and awaits sentencing.
