Former Trump campaign Deputy Chairman Rick Gates has asked to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in home confinement over fears of contracting the coronavirus.
Gates, who was sentenced to 45 days in intermittent custody in December after cooperating with former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, made the request on Sunday. Because he serves his sentence on weekends and goes home during the week, he is concerned about contracting and passing the virus on to his wife, who has cancer.
“The massive societal disruptions caused by this pandemic are tragic, and the burdens they have placed on Mr. Gates and his family warrant a modification of the condition on his probation,” his lawyer wrote. “Mr. Gates must now provide additional care for his family for the foreseeable future while his wife continues her treatment for and recovery from cancer.”
The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t oppose the request. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington must approve any changes to Gates’s sentence.
Gates pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiracy for lying to investigators and for working with Paul Manafort’s financially fraudulent Ukrainian lobbying operation. He was one of the most significant cooperators in Mueller’s investigation. It was not clear how many days of his sentence he has already served.
