A former FBI agent, Robert Cessario, has pleaded guilty to purposely destroying crucial evidence in order to frame a pro-Trump lawmaker from Arkansas.
The former agent’s guilty plea was linked to a deal between him and the prosecutors.
Cessario was charged with “corrupt destruction of record in an official proceeding” linked with the corruption lawsuit of previous Arkansas Sen. Jon Woods.
A federal judge ruled that Cessario would face 36 months of probation for purposely destroying the evidence.
Arkansas Online noted:
“Cessario must spend the first six months of probation in home detention, although no electronic monitoring will be required, according to U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes. Holmes also ordered Cessario to pay a $25,000 fine. Cessario’s presentencing report says federal guidelines would require at least five months in prison. The crime Cessario admitted to — corrupt destruction of an object in an official proceeding — carries a minimum recommended sentence of 10 months in prison.”
The outlet continued:
“The sentence can be mitigated by cooperation, according to federal guidelines. The federal sentencing report notes Cessario acknowledged his crime, accepted a plea, and has no prior criminal history. He served in the FBI for 17 years, according to statements by Alan Jackson, the government’s attorney in the case. Defense attorney John Everett of Farmington told Holmes that Cessario’s conviction renders his client unemployable in any kind of law enforcement or security capacity.”
In the plea deal, Cessario confessed:
“I erased the contents of the computer hard knowing that the court has ordered that the computer be submitted for a forensic examination. I did so with the intention of making the contents of the computer’s hard unavailable for forensic examination. At the time, I knew that the contents of the hard drive were relevant to an official proceeding, that is, Cause No. 5:17-CR-50010, United States v. Woods et al. I corruptly performed and had performed, the erasures with intent to impair the integrity and availability of the computer hard drive and its contents for use in that official proceeding.”
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