A Dutch lawyer has become the first person to be formally sentenced in US special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
London-based Alex van der Zwaal, 33, was handed a 30-day prison sentence and fined $20,000 (£14,200) after admitting that he had lied to investigators about contacts with former Trump aide Rick Gates, and failed to turn over emails to Mueller’s team in February.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The law firm, which represented ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort and his former business partner Rick Gates while they were working as political consultants in Ukraine, is reportedly cooperating with Mueller’s investigation.
CNN says investigators are looking into Van der Zwaan’s “communications with Gates and a person with Russian intelligence ties” as part of the ongoing probe.
In a court filing about Van der Zwaan’s sentencing last week, Mueller’s team said the lawyer and Gates were in contact with a colleague named only as “Person A”, a former Russian spy with Russian military intelligence wing GRU.
While “Person A” was not identified, The Guardian reports the description in the court filing “appeared to match Konstantin Kilimnik, a former Russian army linguist” who operated Manafort’s office in Kiev from 2014.
Van der Zwaan had faced a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 for lying to investigators.
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodleCartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorshipTalking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
The trial of Jair Bolsonaro, the 'Trump of the tropics'The Explainer Brazil's former president will likely be found guilty of attempting military coup, despite US pressure and Trump allegiance
-
Trump lambasts crime, but his administration is cutting gun violence preventionThe Explainer The DOJ has canceled at least $500 million in public safety grants
-
Alcatraz: America's most infamous prisonThe Explainer Donald Trump wants to re-open notorious 'escape-proof' jail for 'most ruthless and violent prisoners' in the US
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threatSpeed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 yearsSpeed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year
-
Police ID driver of exploded Cybertruck, can't see motiveSpeed Read An Army Green Beret detonated a homemade bomb in a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
-
FBI: US violent crime falls again, hits pre-Covid levelsSpeed Read A wide-ranging report found that violent crime dropped 3% in the last year, while murder dropped 11.6%
-
Judge rejects Trump bid to make NY case federalSpeed Read Judge Alvin Hellerstein refused Trump's motion to transfer his criminal case to federal court
