In court papers filed late Tuesday, special counsel Robert Mueller’s office argued that a judge shouldn’t rule out jail time for Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who pleaded guilty to lying to prosecutors and the FBI in the Russia investigation.
The special counsel’s office did not take a position on what sentence they thought van der Zwaan should get — according to earlier filings, he faces an estimated sentencing guidelines range between zero to six months. But prosecutors pushed back on van der Zwaan’s arguments in favor of no jail time, such as the fact that his wife, who lives in London, is pregnant and is due in August.
“To the extent the Court seeks to take into account the circumstances of van der Zwaan’s wife’s pregnancy, consideration of that circumstance would not preclude a term of incarceration,” the special counsel’s office wrote. “In any event, a sentence that ensured van der Zwaan’s return to the United Kingdom for the birth of his child in August 2018 would be within the recommended Guidelines’ range.”
Prosecutors wrote that van der Zwaan “presents a scarcity of mitigating factors, and several aggravating circumstances,” including the extent of his false statements to investigators.
“The defendant was expressly warned by the government that it is a crime to lie to the Special Counsel’s Office, that lying could constitute a federal crime, and that such conduct would carry with it the possibility of going to jail if he were convicted. van der Zwaan stated that he understood. He thereafter deliberately and repeatedly lied,” they wrote.
Van der Zwaan’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 3. He is set to become the first person sentenced in the special counsel investigation. Four other people have publicly pleaded guilty so far to charges brought by Mueller’s office — including former Trump campaign deputy chair Rick Gates, Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos — but their sentencings are on hold as they cooperate with prosecutors.
Van der Zwaan’s lawyer filed papers Tuesday night asking the judge for a sentence that doesn’t include any jail time.
“His career has been destroyed, he has been separated from his friends and family, and he faces the possibility of missing the birth of his first child. Although Alex committed a serious offense, just punishment does not require incarceration,” his lawyers wrote.
Van der Zwaan’s plea deal did not include a cooperation requirement, though, and his lawyer asked for a sentencing date as soon as possible so that he can return to London to join his wife, who is pregnant. Van der Zwaan is the son-in-law of German Khan, a Russian bank owner who is suing BuzzFeed News over the publication of an unverified dossier of information concerning President Donald Trump.
Van der Zwaan, a Dutch citizen, admitted making false statements about his interactions with Gates and an unidentified individual referred…
