Former Trump campaign deputy chair Rick Gates, a top cooperator in Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation, will be released from prison on house arrest to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, reports Courthouse News.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman issued the decision Tuesday after Gates’ attorney made the request that his client's wife is continuing cancer treatment and her husband's travel in and out of jail would be a threat to her health.
He’s not the only high-profile inmate tied to the Russia probe seeking permission to serve their sentences at home amid the pandemic.
Michael Cohen, the disgraced former lawyer for President Donald Trump serving time in a New York prison, was told last week he could serve the remainder of his three-year sentence at home.
Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, who was convicted of attempting to extort as much as $25 million from Nike, has also secured a similar request. Avenatti rose to fame two years ago while representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump.
“If Mr. Gates were to return to his home carrying the virus, it could create serious ramifications for his wife,” defense attorney Thomas Green argued in a motion filed April 19. “Due to her cancer treatment, her immune system is compromised, placing her at heightened risk for serious side effects or worse if she were to be infected with the coronavirus.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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