In a one page filing updating the status of the case, Robert Mueller and attorneys for Rick Gates have asked the court to delay his sentencing once again, Politico reports.
The filing states that Gates, an associate of Paul Manafort and a Trump campaign official, “continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations” and that the status of the case “has not changed substantially since the January status report”.
Both sides agree that delaying his sentencing another 60 days is appropriate and suggest that the next filing will be filed no later than May 14 . This is the fourth time the two sides have asked for a delay in sentencing, according to Politico.
The Hill reports that Judge Amy Berman Jackson, federal judge overseeing Gates case, as well as Paul Manafort’s and Roger Stone’s cases, has ordered the next status report be filed by the suggested May 14 date.
Gates was indicted along with Paul Manafort, his mentor and business partner, in November 2017. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and making false statements in February 2018 and has been cooperating with the special counsel’s investigation since. He was the star witness against Paul Manafort, in the trial in Alexandria, Virginia last year when Manafort was found guilty on eight of the 18 counts. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, was sentenced last week in Virginia and earlier this week in DC. He received a sentence of approximately 7.5 years.
Today’s filing may suggest that, in spite of much speculation, Mueller’s investigation is not complete. However, it is also possible that Gates is cooperating with investigations that are not directly involved with Mueller’s probe. Per Politico, today’s filing suggests that Gates may be cooperating with prosecutors in New York in the investigation into Trump’s inauguration committee. Gates, along with Tom Barrack, headed up the inauguration committee.
A delay in sentencing until cooperation is complete in a case such as this benefits both sides: the individual is able to receive the maximum credit for helping investigators and investigators receive as much cooperation as possible from the witness.
