Judge chastises Rick Gates for legal defense fundraiser video
The federal judge presiding over the case of former Paul Manafort business associate Rick Gates chastised him for a video he recorded for a legal defense fundraiser this week, asking him to explain how the video doesn't violate the gag order she issued.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson asked Gates to explain himself, after he recorded a video thanking people for their support that was played at a legal defense fundraiser hosted in his name by lobbyist Jack Burkman on Tuesday. She also asked Gates to explain his relationship with Burkman, who once protested the Dallas Cowboys for hiring the openly gay player Michael Sam. Burkman, who hosts his own radio show, invited members of the press, who made up perhaps the majority of the small number of people in attendance at the Arlington, Virginia fundraiser earlier this week.
In a minute Jackson released Friday, she said Gates is "ORDERED to show cause by December 27, 2017, why the court should not find that his reported personal participation in the creation of a fundraising video to be shown to journalists and disseminated on social media, in which, according to multiple press accounts, defendant makes reference to 'the cause' and the goal of 'ensuring that our supporters from across the United States her our message and stand with us,' would not violate this court's order..."
The minute order added, "The court emphasizes that it is not intimating that the creation of a legal defense fund or the expression of personal views by third parties not acting at the behest of the defense would violate its order."
At the fundraiser, Burkman described the prosecution as "very unfair," answering numerous questions from reporters after showing a brief video from Gates supposedly recorded in Richmond, Virginia, where Gates lives. At the fundraiser, Berkman said Gates could not attend because of the court's proceedings, although he would have attended if the terms of his bail allowed.
The fund Berkman is helping with is called the Defending American Rights Legal Fund. Berkman said Gates, unlike his co-defendant former Trump campaign manager Manafort, isn't very wealthy, and needs the help.
But Gates has posted a $5 million bond, and in 2016 filed a credit application saying his net worth was $25 million and his wife's net worth was $30 million, according to a court filing.
Manafort and Gates have pleaded not guilty to 12 counts, including money laundering and conspiracy against the United States, as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties to Trump associates.
CBS News' Clare Hymes contributed to this report.
