A Washington political consultant initially ensnared in the special counsels Russia investigation is asking a federal judge to spare him from prison time for unregistered lobbying and participating in a foreign donation scheme involving President Donald Trumps inaugural committee.
W. Samuel Patten, who faces up to five years in prison, argued in court papers filed Monday that he should receive probation in part for being a reliable and valuable cooperator with special counsel Robert Muellers investigation and other ongoing probes. In separate court papers , prosecutors agreed that Patten provided substantial assistance to the government.
The government didnt take a position on Pattens punishment but said U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson should consider leniency during his sentencing set for Friday. Prosecutors said Patten was willing to be a witness in the case of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and he provided information related to other criminal investigations.
The sentencing recommendations come as Mueller has wrapped his Russia investigation and as other federal prosecutors continue to probe whether foreigners illegally contributed to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
When Patten pleaded guilty last year, his case revealed that he had orchestrated a scheme to circumvent the federal ban on foreign donations to inaugural committees on behalf of a Ukrainian politician. Aware of the ban, Patten lined up an American straw purchaser to front $50,000 for four tickets to the inauguration for the politician, who court papers say had paid Pattens company for the tickets using an account from Cyprus.
Patten later lied about the scheme to the Senate intelligence committee.
In arguing for leniency, Pattens attorney, Stuart Sears, described Patten as a political consultant who advocated for American democracy abroad and was fiercely loyal to a fault.
Sears said there was no political agenda or motive behind Pattens purchase of the inauguration tickets. He also was not part of a scheme to funnel foreign money to Trumps campaign, Sears said, noting that Patten openly opposed Trumps candidacy and didnt vote for him.
It was entirely a product of a wrong-headed effort to accommodate a clients request, Pattens attorney wrote. The same was true for Pattens actions that ran afoul of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to the defenses memo.
In his plea agreement, Patten admitted to violating the law by lobbying in the U.S. on behalf of the Opposition Bloc, a Ukrainian political party, without registering with the Justice Department.
Pattens partner in that effort was Konstantin Kilimnik, a co-defendant of Manafort and a man that the FBI says has ties to Russian intelligence. Kilimnik, who has denied the ties, was indicted alongside Manafort on charges of witness tampering. He has not appeared in a U.S. court to face the charges and is believed to live in Russia.
The investigation into Pattens lobbying initially stemmed from Muellers probe but his case was then referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
(AP)
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