Dutch Attorney Alex van der Zwann is the first person to be sentenced to jail time as part of Robert Mueller’s extended investigation.
This week, the lawyer was sentenced in a federal court, and ordered to spend 30 days in prison and pay $20,000 in fines. Van der Zwann had previously admitted to lying to investigators. He was also one of the only individuals under investigation who did not comply with investigators or cooperate with the team.
The attorney was first to receive a sentence in the ongoing investigation; he had worked with Paul Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump. Van der Zwann admitted to refusing to turn over emails requested by the Mueller team earlier this year. The attorney was pulled into the investigation via his law firm, Skadden Arps, which was contacted about its involvement in alleged contact between Russian and Ukraine concerns during the 2016 presidential election.
The attorney was also accused of lying during his interviews and eventually admitted to doing so. His efforts were described as intended to protect his employment status and personal reputation.
Hidden Conversations
Discussions with business associates in Ukraine are at the heart of the investigation into Van der Zwaan’s involvement. He was accused of dealing with both members of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and key associates in Russia and Ukraine while the election was going on. Mueller’s team subpoenaed Van der Zwann to appear before a grand jury in the United States. When the attorney entered the US, this passport was confiscated. He later confessed to the Mueller team that he had lied and provided access to his emails and computer.
Unlike many of the other defendants, Van der Zwann did not agree to cooperate with the investigation, instead refusing to hand over emails, cell phones and personal documents.
Van der Zwaan’s emails were important to Mueller’s investigation into any possible Russian interference with the 2016 election. Van der Zwann became involved with Manafort and others during this time, but hid his actions and involvement from his employers. He later lied about his involvement, so his firm would not discover what he had done; the lies resulted in a prison sentence and hefty fine.
The attorney is wealthy and well connected, according to reporters in court as he awaited his sentence. He brought with him family members and several personal attorneys, who awaited the sentencing with him.
“What I did was wrong,” Van der Zwann said to the judge. “I apologize to the court for my conduct. I apologize to my wife and family.” He read his prepared statement to the court after the prosecutor and defense attorney made statements about his potential sentencing.
The Investigation Continues
The United States Department of Justice authorized Robert Mueller to investigate Paul Manafort and others about possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 election.
Attorney Alex van der Zwann was pursued as part of this ongoing inquiry; the lawyer faced a maximum $250,000 fine and up to five years in prison for his involvement, though most involved expected him to receive a far lighter sentence. His own attorneys requested no prison time at all; once the sentence of 30 days was handed down, his team asked for those days to be served in Pennsylvania, in a minimum-security prison run by the federal government.
Noting that Van der Zwaan’s wife is pregnant and struggling on her own, without her husband as he awaits sentencing, the defense team asked for leniency.
Van der Zwaan’s was not the first guilty plea to come from the Mueller investigation; three others, including George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn, Trump’s former National Security Advisor. Flynn also pled guilty; he was accused of lying to investigators and later agreed to cooperate. A third defendant was accused of identity fraud and creating fake user names. Another 13 individuals from Russia have been indicted as well, mainly for manipulating and influencing the election through social media sites like Facebook.
To date, Manafort has pleaded not guilty; he has been charged with two sets of Federal allegations, and investigators are also looking into his alleged collusion with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election.
~ Conservative Zone
30 days in jail and a $20,000 fine. This guy is the son-in-law of a Russian oligarch. $20,000 is less than chump change. He can do 30 days in jail standing on his head. What specifically did he do? The fine and jail term suggests that he didn’t do much.
Per the article, he lied out of organic fear for his job and family’s well-being. Not surprising… Wouldn’t you, if pressed by aggressive high-speed-barraging Feral (oops, shoulda’ been Federal but that is how they ARE) Witch Hunters (Oh wait wait I should mean “investigators”… But I don’t.) past the point of reason’s end?
NORMAL! Ergo a mere month at Club Fed for the poor schlub. And (one prays and therefore hopes) that will be all. 0{;-\o[
and Andrew McCabe????
I don’t really understand the Republicans agreeing with the Dems on not having Trump fire Mueller. At this point I am really for Trump on the entire matter. At this point he should clean house, Rosenstein, Mueller, maybe Sessions who I have always liked. I think we gave the front door key to the crooks. I could be wrong as I don’t really understand the crookedness of DC. Trump will never get cooperation with Democrats their agenda is to destroy America in the form it was when Reagan was President. The Republicans in Congress show resign if they are not with Trump.
TERM LIMITS SHOULD GET ON THE FLOOR PROPOSED AND PASSED.
Mueller will fire himself or hopefuilly worse be removed by congress.
This guy is the son-in-law of a Russian oligarch. $20,000 fine is less than chump change to him and he can do 30 days in jail standing on his head. What exactly did he do? The paltry fine and jail term suggests that it wasn’t much.
“The attorney was also accused of lying during his interviews and eventually admitted to doing so. His efforts were described as intended to protect his employment status and personal reputation.”
Basically the same thing numerous Clinton and Obama people have done yet he gets a fine and jail for it.
He was ordered to spend 30 days in prison and pay $20,000 in fines. Van der Zwann had previously admitted to lying to investigators. He was also one of the only individuals under investigation who did not comply with investigators or cooperate with the team. 30 days in prison is a slap on the wrist. The fines, I’m okay with.
It is my view;Trump has brought nothing but problems and has caused a dark ,negative cloud over the Nation and the World !It is my view that it is time he be dismissed from the Office of President before he does more damage…The Republican Leadership must step up and do their duty..How so very sad for this Nation ..because for the most part of it’s History ,America has been a Nation of respected leaders…. and people..giving positive support/aid to all countries..!
Except the ones whose politics we didn’t like. Those, like Libya and Syria recently, we attacked and/or undermined. Kid, we’re a country with an ideological point of view which we seek to promote throughout the world. We are not a collection of altruistic saints.
I don’t believe Trump has caused the problem. The problem lies with the deep state, which is why Trump was elected in the first place. How anybody can say Trump is the problem, but not killery and all her felonies is beyond me.
They only DAMAGE being done is by those LYING about him and throwing a temper tantrum since the day they LOST THE ELECTION doing every thing they can to try and STEAL the election even long after it is over.
The document that started the entire INVESTIGATION was proven to be FALSE and FUNDED by Clinton supporters yet they have wasted at least a year on an investigation into Trump when they have far more evidence of WRONGDOING and even CRIMINAL acts the DNC has been involved with they will not even start investigating.
Hey Julia, you are a total ass””e, what cast a dark negative cloud over our nation is stupid broads like you.
Who really caused this bull? Trump or dems or republican rinos? All to blame-still only smoke-no meat.
Wow, Are you kidding Julia? My golly you must have buried your head in the sand, maybe you should read something other then the liberal bias news! Try reading Mark Lavine’s books, or perhaps maybe if you stop watching the CNN, Or MSNBC, you will become more informed about the constitution and what is happening with the deep state that Obama created over the 8 years. Do you even hear or read about the DOJ being so corrupt and the FBI scandals, or I suspose you keep your head buried in the idiot sand pile. I have to admit that people such as you do make it hard for me to understand why you blame Trump for all the corruption and this illegal Mueller mess. Then again, maybe you do not even know about the fired DOJ people that are lieing and even though one has been fired, because he lied under oath, and Rosenstein Should have been fired from the beginning, and Mueller has gone way off the track for original cause for Russian collusion, and since when does he get to write the rules. The deep state has never worked so hard, and although Sessions is decent man, the attorney general has failed be the leader he was appointed to be. This has become a real threat to you and I as civilians because it now means that special investigators have no laws that apply to them. Many that plea guilty do so with the fear of special prosecutors ability to have unlimited scope and money to bankrupt any citizen now. There will never be a greater harm to freedom than over greedy, zelious prosecutors that can declare no such thing as client/ attorney priviledge. PLEASE LEARN TO READ, AND START WITH THE CONSTITUTION JULIA!
Mueller is doing exactly what his boss pays him to do. Keep the focus on President Trump and off of her – her family and her Trust – uh – I mean “Foundation”. 😉
“In the beginning the organizer’s first job is to create the issues or problems.”
― Saul D. Alinsky, Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
Hey wasn’t Barry – whoever the hell he really is – an “organizer” a “community organizer”?
When did it become illegal to lie to the FBI? In California, it use to be illegal to lie to law enforcement (decades ago), but was ruled unconstitutional. Why is that the case but not the case with the FBI?
Mueller is so desperate to “find” a crime.
Now he had the FBI raid Cohen’s home/office for what?
How can they find criminality over something that supposedly happened before
Trump even thought about running for office?
There are so many more crimes done by the Demonrats, and nothing ever happens to them.
This is totally off the rails. Mueller gets to run amok into “investigating ” anyone who has ever
known Trump from his birth to today. Ridiculous! While the guilty ones get off with oh! carelessness?
Worse yet, the raid on Cohen’s office has, literally, destroyed attorney-client privilege!
Mueller is the one that should be in Jail!
IMHO, the “mule” has gone far beyond the original intent of this investigation and to arrest and prosecute a foreign national, for “trivialities”, is so absurd, it boggles the mind. The clinonista mafia has done far worse and they have not even been “touched”; they should (all 3) be arrested, fined, imprisoned for a minimum 25 years, with the exception of “hitlery”, who should face execution for TREASON!
“…with the exception of “hitlery”, who should face execution for TREASON!”
Yerright! Constitution says as much. So git THAT one into the cell and try her aright.
Yes, the crime sure is treason, all right. Post-conviction: CONTACT YOURS TRULY for the Hangman Service that is required. I am not in hiding and am thus easy to find for the Grim Duty when needed. This modern-day aficionado of the Pierrepoint Method will do the rest.
Standard fee – the current equivalent of Pierrepoint’s twenty British gold sovereigns – is plenty enuf to make the exercise worthwhile. So long as payment is in metal and not in fiat scrip, it could even be a fine accurately-valued job-lot of copper bars in a strong wooden crate, afaiac.
Have rope etc and a fine two-wheel dolly. Will travel.
PS – I clean up my messes after I do my work/jobs. Lifelong policy! ‘Nuff said now. And that is all. 0{;-|o[
so far all i hear is legal bullshit, do something!!!!
Hillary Clinton lied to Congress many times. Why is it that she did not go to jail ?
Julia,
Our governmental institutions were totally criminalized and weaponized by the Obama administration. The IRS, NSA. STATE, FBI, JUSTICE all were all criminally guilty, and let to the corruption of the FISA COURT proceedings. You need to find some remedy which will allow you to look at reality, rather than finding ways to justify the lack of integrity in the Obama administration and its minions that destroyed those departments and honesty and justice in our Federal Government.
Julia,
Our governmental institutions were totally criminalized and weaponized by the Obama administration. The IRS, NSA. STATE, FBI, JUSTICE all were all criminally guilty, and let to the corruption of the FISA COURT proceedings. You need to find some remedy which will allow you to look at reality, rather than finding ways to justify the lack of integrity in the Obama administration and its minions that destroyed those departments and honesty and justice in our Federal Government.
If anyone has ever read any of my comments they would think I love Trump. This is not true, I voted for him because I despise the democratic party and have no use for anyone who listens and believes their anti-american propaganda. I support Trump because he was lawfully elected and his policies are good for all Americans including despicable democrats. The DNC ploy to impeach trump is a front to democracy and our Constitution. Trump has his faults as do all of us and he is no worse than any other president who has served in the past 20 years. Clinton and Obama set the standard for destroying democracy and decency while in office. Mueller and his activities border on subversion as the primary purpose of all his activities is to spread fake news which the media gladly spreads. GOD save America from the evils of the DNCs propaganda.
“… a front to democracy…”
Um, shouldn’t that be “an AFFRONT to democracy? Affront is insult, which is precisely what the DNC’s machinations and manipulations and murders (HIS NAME WAS >>>SETH RICH<<<!) truly is.
Sure wish this comment forum had a proper "EDIT" feature. And that is all. 0{:-\o[
It will take many years with a man like President Trump to clean out the deep state. What did anyone think B. Obama was doing for 8 years; community organizing within our government, and, he still is doing it to us. The left, socialist, communist have been infiltrating our federal and state agencies for many years, and, a broom just will not solve the problem. The subversive leaders must be stopped first but it is a wicked cycle for the infiltration in our government and communities oppose any policy or person who wants to expose them as anti-American, big government lovers and wanting to turn America into a Third World country with elite globalist leaders (sadly, many within our own government).
When is Mueller going to be charged for working for Viktor Yanukovych in 2013?
Yeah right! Hilldawitch can get away with lying to Congress but Mr. Van der Zwann can’t. Where’s the justice. President Trump, please pardon Mr. Van der Zwann. That will really get Mueller’s goat!
Well thank god that Mueller is getting $20k back out of the millions of tax payer dollars that have been spent on this ridiculous investigation!!!
somebody has to permanently retire muller /Clinton/sobammas and soros .we the people can do this ,and much more /
Attorney van der Zwann is a “foreign national” – -since “when” do we try those AND imprison them? The individual, in this scenario, who deserves prison the most, is the “mule” himself- – his past history is very LONG and CROOKED.