The FBI has taken a new PR knock just months after the search on ex-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Towards the end of last year, an ex-FBI agent agreed to plead guilty to charges that he intentionally tampered with evidence to implicate an Arkansas state politician who supported Donald Trump.
Guilty Agent Gets Off Easy
The ex-agent, Robert Cessario, was accused of corruption and destroying records during a proceeding in conjunction with the corruption conviction of former state Senator Jon Woods of Springdale.
He admitted guilt as a result of an agreement with the prosecution.
For the destruction of evidence in the corruption investigation that resulted in the imprisonment of three men, a federal judge ordered Cessario to three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes ruled that Cessario must serve the first few months of his probationary term in home confinement, despite the fact that electronic monitoring is necessary. Holmes also mandated a $25,000 penalty for Cessario.
According to Cessario’s presentencing assessment, federal standards call for a minimum sentence of five months in jail.
According to Arkansas Online, the offense Cessario agreed to, dishonest damage of an item in an authorized procedure, carries a minimum suggested punishment of 10 months in jail.
Ex-FBI Agent Who Destroyed Evidence In Case Against GOP Lawmaker Avoids Jail https://t.co/onbM1at57w
— Dolly_World (@dolly_note) February 23, 2023
By cooperating, the punishment may be reduced in accordance with federal regulations. According to the federal sentence report, Cessario admitted his guilt, entered a guilty plea, and had no prior convictions.
As per comments made by Alan Jackson, the government’s counsel in the trial, he worked with the FBI for 17 years. According to defense lawyer John Everett of Farmington, Cessario’s judgment makes him unfit for employment in any law enforcement or security role.
Ex-FBI Agent Who Destroyed Evidence In Case Against GOP Lawmaker Avoids Jail https://t.co/iE04KUnith #mustread #feedly
— Keith Westbrook (@kcjw33) February 23, 2023
Cessario claimed he wiped the data off of the PC while knowing the court had directed the PC to be presented for a forensic examination. He continued by saying he had done this to prevent forensic investigation of the information on the PC’s hard drive.
He was aware the information on the hard drive was pertinent to the case United States v. Woods et al., Case No. 5:17-CR-50010, at the time.
In order to compromise the accessibility and reliability of the PC’s hard drive and its data to be utilized for that official procedure, he corruptly executed the erasures.
Cessario Admits Guilt
According to the site, Cessario’s allegations are a result of his participation in the prosecution of Woods, who was found guilty in 2018 of 14 charges of wire and mail fraud.
Woods was found guilty of using state monies to pay bribes at Ecclesia College in Springdale. Trump had Woods’ support in 2016, according to reports.
After the FBI reportedly examined President Biden’s Delaware house and former Vice President Mike Pence’s residence, the ex-agent’s conduct and guilty plea followed.
This article appeared in The Patriot Brief and has been published here with permission.
