Mueller drops charges against Rick Gates, court OKs Boston spring break trip

[Dulcinea]

Former Donald Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates is quickly discovering that cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller has its advantages.

The lead Russia investigator asked a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia Tuesday to dismiss a series of criminal charges against Gates, including tax and bank fraud, in exchange for his guilty plea and testimony in the wider probe into the 2016 presidential election.


Gates also secured another win on Tuesday when a different judge granted his request to take his children to Boston next week for their spring break — well outside the 110-mile corridor between his home in Richmond and Washington that he’d previously been confined to for his travels.

The additional leniency comes after Gates agreed to a plea deal last Friday with Mueller that stipulates he must cooperate “in any and all matters” that the special counsel’s office decides are “relevant.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/27/rick-gates-charges-dropped-robert-mueller-russia-probe-427177

[TheDebbieDee]

1. I worry that Gates may be permanently "closed"

or fall out of a window now that he is no longer under house arrest...

[Fred Sanders]

2. On Fox the charges have been dropped and it is a Witchhunt.

Mueller’s team filed a motion to drop 22 tax and bank fraud charges against Gates. The filing was tied to Gates’ agreement last week to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and lying to the FBI.

That plea pertained to charges filed against him in October in Washington, D.C., for which he still faces up to 71 months in prison.

Under the terms of the deal, the government had agreed it would move to dismiss another set of charges brought against him more recently in a Virginia federal court. Those charges covered everything from alleged tax fraud to bank fraud. The charges in Virginia were related to money laundering and bank fraud counts, which Manafort still faces, filed in Virginia for technical reasons.

And Gates still faces 4 to 7 years in prison and fines up to 200K, and the charges dismissed today are "without prejudice" as Gates will be required to comply with the plea bargain agreement, including testimony at trial of Manafort, prior to sentencing.

[global1]

3. Does Anyone Else Here Think This Is A Bit Sloppy On Mueller's Part..

shouldn't Gates be under protective custody?

Gates agreed to a plea deal last Friday with Mueller that stipulates he must cooperate “in any and all matters” that the special counsel’s office decides are “relevant” - and Mueller is letting Gates take his children to Boston next week.

I imagine that there are some people out there that really don't relish Gates cooperating "in any and all matters" that the special counsel's office decides are "relevant".

Seems to me this scenario doesn't have a happy ending.

[BigmanPigman]

4. Maybe he already gave them all the relevant info that they need

and they don't care how safe his future is and the Russians probably know it. Manafort, on the other hand, hasn't said anything therefore he has the right to be fearful of the Russians' polonium.

[global1]

5. Unless They Have Him On Video....

it would be Mueller's word against a dead man. TrumpCo, the Repugs and Fox would make mincemeat out of that. We'll be hearing more cries of 'being rigged', 'being railroaded' and 'witchhunt'.