USA TODAY International Edition
Another guilty plea in Mueller probe
Attorney worked with Trump aide Gates
WASHINGTON – A Dutch attorney pleaded guilty Tuesday to lying to the FBI about his work with two of President Trump’s former campaign aides, the latest criminal case in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Prosecutors working for Mueller revealed charges Tuesday morning that the lawyer, Alex Van Der Zwaan, lied to agents about his conversations with former Trump aide Rick Gates, who was indicted last year on charges related to his work on behalf of pro-Russian factions in Ukraine. Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was charged along with Gates.
Van Der Zwaan acknowledged making false statements about his contacts with Gates and an individual prosecutors identified as “Person A.”
Van Der Zwaan has cooperated with Mueller’s investigation, U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson said.
The case centered on Van Der Zwaan’s work in 2012 on a report supporting the prosecution of a chief political rival to the then-president of Ukraine, whose government was supported by the lobbying work of Manafort and Gates.
Manafort and Gates, who were indicted in October on money laundering and fraud charges, are accused of funneling $4 million from an offshore account to pay for the prosecution report. “I plead guilty,” Van Der Zwaan said. The charge, outlined in a two-page filing, states that Van Der Zwaan, the son-in-law of Russian oligarch German Khan, secretly recorded telephone conversations with Gates in September 2016. The specific content of those conversations, which involved “Person A,” was not disclosed.
Gates has long had a close professional association with Manafort, which extended to Trump’s presidential campaign. Manafort joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 and worked with Gates in wrangling delegates before the Republican National Convention. When Manafort took over management of the campaign in June of that year, Gates signed on as his deputy.
Van Der Zwaan, an associate in the London office of law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, is accused of lying to federal agents about his contacts with Gates in August 2016 and failing to turn over email communication to federal investigators.
According to court documents, Van Der Zwaan allegedly made the false statements Nov. 3, days after the charges against Manafort and Gates were made public.
Van Der Zwaan’s attorney, William Schwartz, said his client has been in the USA since Nov. 3, when he was questioned by FBI agents working for Mueller.
Van Der Zwaan is scheduled to be sentenced April 3. Although the charge of lying to the FBI carries a maximum of five years in prison, he could be eligible for a term of up to six months, based on his clean record and cooperation with the government.
The attorney is the third person charged with lying to federal agents as part of the wide-ranging inquiry.