U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Sam Patten, a Washington lobbyist and a former Paul Manafort associate, pleaded guilty Friday to a charge that he failed to register as a foreign agent for work he did for a Ukrainian political party.

Patten, 47, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday morning with his lawyer. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., who is overseeing the case, accepted his guilty plea and allowed his release with a number of conditions.

Patten also agreed to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors, according to Jackson. Jackson did not set a sentencing date, but has set a deadline for a joint status report for Oct. 31.

The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia. Michael DiLorenzo, an assistant U.S. attorney, and Scott Claffee, a lawyer from Main Justice's National Security Division, both appeared in court Friday morning.

Stuart Sears, a Schertler & Onorato partner who is representing Patten, declined to comment after Friday's court hearing.

The case against Patten was referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office from special counsel Robert Mueller III, who is leading the investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors for the special counsel, including Andrew Weissmann, a senior lawyer on the probe, were in the courtroom.

Between 2014 and this year, Patten sought to influence U.S. policy on behalf of a major Ukrainian political party, the Opposition Bloc, without disclosing his work to the Justice Department, according to court papers filed Friday.

Prosecutors say Patten worked with a Russian national, and for a Ukrainian client who is not identified in the court papers, and sought to set up meetings with members of the executive branch, lawmakers and staffers on Capitol Hill, as well as journalists.

“The activity was undertaken to promote the interests of [the Ukrainian oligarch] and the Opposition Bloc to influence U.S. policy,” prosecutors said in the charging documents. Prosecutors also alleged that Patten helped the Ukrainian oligarch draft op-eds targeted at the U.S. press.

Jackson is also overseeing the upcoming trial of Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman. Manafort has also been accused of failing to register his foreign lobbying work in Ukraine, allegedly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges, and other conspiracy and witness tampering charges. His Washington trial is set to begin Sept. 24.

Patten's plea agreement is posted below:

 

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