U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson apparently doesn’t buy into the idea that accused white–collar criminals don’t have to follow the same rules as everyone else.
On Friday, the judge shot down a request by Rick Gates—who was indicted along with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on multiple felony charges as part of the ongoing Russia probe—to suspend his house arrest to allow him to attend a New Year’s Eve party with his family.
The decision was first reported by BuzzFeed legal editor Chris Geidner.
Gates already had submitted other requests to the court to temporarily waive his house arrest order for Christmas and New Year’s activities from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1. His deadline to submit those requests was Dec. 20. While the court appears to have granted some of those requests, the New Year’s Eve party wasn’t among approved activities.
On Thursday, Gates’ attorneys filed another motion asking the court to allow him to usher in the new year at a party outside his home.
“The events are within the jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Virginia, less than 60 miles from Mr. Gates’s residence. Mr. Gates requests a limited release to attend these events with his family before school resumes. Mr. Gates notes that the Court denied a prior request to take a longer trip with his family to a city outside the state of Virginia for the New Year’s holiday,” the motion stated.
Judge Jackson, clearly annoyed by this point, rejected the motion.
“Given the untimely filing of the current motion, it will be denied,” Jackson wrote.
Gates is charged with money laundering and failing to register as a lobbyist for a foreign government, among other alleged crimes. He has been under house arrest since October.