Alex van der Zwaan outside a federal courthouse Tuesday. Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images
Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison and $20,000 in fines Tuesday. This comes after van der Zwaan pleaded guilty in February to lying to FBI agents about his communications with deputy Trump campaign manager Rick Gates and an unidentified individual, labeled "Person A" in court documents, who is believed to have ties to Russian intelligence.
Why it matters: The decision marks the the first sentencing in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
"What I did was wrong. I apologize to the court for my conduct.”— van der Zwaan in court Tuesday
The backdrop:
- Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s team did not recommend a specific sentence for van der Zwaan, per National Law Journal.
- van der Zwaan faced up to 5 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Go deeper: Alex van der Zwaan's links to Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman