WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in jail for lying to investigators, becoming the first person to be sentenced in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Van der Zwaan, who pleaded guilty to lying to Mueller's team in February, was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and serve two months of probation.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson declined van der Zwaan's lawyers request to spare him jail time but noted he is allowed to leave the country as soon as his 30-day sentence is completed.
A former Skadden Arps associate, van der Zwaan had pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with President Donald Trump's former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates and Russian-Ukrainian political operative Konstantin Kilimnik.
Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn have also pleaded guilty to lying to investigators as part of Mueller's probe.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX