Federal prosecutors want Jack Abramoff associate Kevin Ring to serve 17 to 22 years in jail because he refuses to admit that he’s guilty and unsuccessfully fought the criminal charges against him, the Associated Press reported.
If he receives that much time in jail, Ring — who was found to have treated government officials to meals and tickets to events — would serve a sentence that exceeds the time served by all 20 other defendants in the conspiracy combined, the AP said.
“That’s a pretty big penalty for exercising a constitutional right,” District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said during a Tuesday hearing on Ring’s sentencing recommendation.
“It’s not retaliation,” federal prosecutor Nathaniel Edmonds said during the hearing. King is set to be sentenced on Oct. 26.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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