FBI Agent Who Destroyed Evidence In Case Against Republican Lawmaker Sentenced, Avoids Prison

A former FBI agent who was accused of trying to frame a pro-Trump state senator in Arkansas with the destruction of evidence entered a guilty plea late last year.

Prosecutors and ex-agent Robert Cessario worked out a plea deal in which Cessario admitted guilt in exchange for dismissal of “corrupt destruction of record in an official proceeding” charges related to the corruption prosecution of ex-State Senator Jon Woods of Springdale.

Cessario was sentenced to three years of probation by a federal judge for deleting evidence in a corruption case that resulted in the imprisonment of three persons.

According to Arkansas Online, “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 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,” AO added.

Cessario admitted in his guilty agreement, “I erased the contents of the computer hard drive 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.”

The outlet reported that “Cessario’s charges stem from his role in the corruption trial of Woods who was convicted of mail fraud and 14 counts of wire fraud in 2018,” adding, “Woods was convicted of steering state funds to Ecclesia College in Springdale in exchange for kickbacks.”

In 2016, Woods endorsed Trump.

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s home in Virginia and former Vice President Joe Biden‘s home in Delaware were recently inspected by the FBI, prompting the former agent’s conduct and subsequent plea deal. In August of last year, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was investigated.

As part of the Justice Department’s investigation into President Biden’s handling and possession of secret documents while serving as a senator and vice president, according to a Wednesday report, the FBI conducted two searches at the University of Delaware.

The president’s legal team has been involved in the latest searches. According to the source, the FBI is presently evaluating the materials that were seized during the searches and they do not appear to have any classified marks. None of the searches had been made public before now.

“The library at the University of Delaware, Biden’s alma mater, is home to an extensive collection of papers from the president’s time in the Senate, according to its website,” CNN said. The outlet added investigators “examined two separate batches of documents during the searches: an archive of materials from Biden’s time in the US Senate and documents that Biden sent to the university in recent years.”

Aside from the classified documents, there are also issues concering whether the US Secret Service has any visitor logs from Biden’s Delaware home.