sam paton pled guilty last year. prosecutors have since said he started cooperating with prosecutors even before he signed his formal plea agreement, even before he pled guilty. they say he's been very helpful. judge amy berman jackson in washington, d.c. today explained she would have considered a prison sentence for sam paton were it not for his considerable cooperation with prosecutors. but given the nature of his crime and his lack of a previous criminal record and prosecutors wholehearted endorsement and appreciation for whatever it is he's been helping with them all these months the judge ultimately gave sam paton today three years probation and a $5,000 fine. and again we think that may be the lightest sentence of anybody thus far as a mueller defendant. that said with sam paton's case now coming to a close and him walking out of the courtroom today a free man, we the people, we the observers of this whole scandal and investigation, we're all still very much in the dark as to how his case and his cooperation f

the closest prosecutors got to explaining what sam paton helped them with since he's been a cooperatingitness were these two lines. first they said sam patten serve as a valuable resource for the government in a number of other criminal investigations providing helpful information about additional individuals and entities. oh, individuals and entities, both kinds, right? not helpful in terms of description. but then they also said this. quote, in total patten has met with government investigators in person or by phone a total of nine separate times to answer numerous questions or explain various documents. in all of these sessions patten has been straight with government investigators. where the government more fully describes the nature of his cooperation and assistance to the government. oh, tell me more. luckily there's a footnote. here's the footnote. quote, because the addendum includes sensitive information about other investigations and persons who have not been and may not be charged with a crime the government is seeking permission from the court to file the addendum under seal

his name was sam paton. he pled guilty last year to lying to investigators.nt in which he admitted a ranging and illegal $50,000 foreign donation into the trump inaugural. he also admitted lobbying as a