Prosecutors Not Ready To Schedule Rick Gates’ Sentencing Yet

Rick Gates and the prosecutors handling his case are not ready to schedule a sentencing date, they said in a court filing Monday, noting both his continuing cooperation and the trials later this year for former Obama White House Counsel Greg Craig and for ex-Trump advisor Roger Stone.

It is not clear whether the reference to the trials was an implication that Gates was cooperating in those specific cases, or merely a note that the judge — who is overseeing all three cases — already has a busy fall.

Neither Gates’ attorney nor a press person for the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office responded to TPM emails seeking clarification at publishing time.

Regardless, Monday’s filing shows that even though special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has wrapped up, one of his key witnesses continues to be of use to federal investigators.

Gates is one of several witnesses who have helped in both Mueller’s probe and in other investigations, some of which having been referred out by Mueller’s team.

Gates was indicted alongside his longtime boss Paul Manafort in October 2017. He began cooperating in a plea deal unveiled that following February and ultimately testified against Manafort in Mueller’s financial crimes case against the former Trump campaign chairman in Virginia last summer.

Craig was indicted in April for failing to register as a foreign agent for work related to the same Ukraine lobbying campaign that was wrapped up in the charges brought against Manafort and Gates. The lobbying effort was unrelated to and predated the 2016 presidential election.

Craig’s case was reportedly referred by Mueller to prosecutors in Manhattan and eventually made its way back to D.C., where the charges were brought. He’s pleaded not guilty and the case is scheduled for trial in mid-August.

Stone was charged in January with making false statements to Congress about his 2016 efforts to contact Wikileaks, as well as with witness intimidation. Due to the gag order in his case, much of the section of the Mueller report having to do with the Trump campaign’s communication about Wikileaks is redacted, but it appears Gates had provided Mueller’s team with information about that broader topic.

Stone, who has pleaded not guilty, will see his case go to trial in November.

Read the status report in the Gates case below: