Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York called Harris’ actions “despicable,” the Associated Press reported. Harris tearfully apologized for her actions during the sentencing hearing and said she regretted making the childhood and life of the president’s daughter public, according to the AP.
As part of her sentence, Harris must also forfeit money she made from the sale.
Harris’ lawyers declined to comment Tuesday evening.
In September 2020, Harris and fellow Robert Kurlander, 61, who also pleaded guilty and has not yet been sentenced, “conspired to steal, transport across state lines and sell personal property” owned to an individual who they knew “was immediate family”. member of a former then-government official who was a candidate for national political office,” a 2022 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York states.
“After Harris stole the property, she asked Kurlander to help facilitate its sale,” the office said. “The organization then paid Harris and Kurlander each $20,000 for the stolen property. »
Less than two weeks before the 2020 election, part of the newspaper – which was missing – was published online on a right-wing website.
Project Veritas, which did not publish the diary, claimed it belonged to Ashley Biden, then 38, and was provided to the organization by a “whistleblower.”
The group claimed the diary was obtained legally, but the FBI launched an investigation into how the diary ended up in the organization’s hands, and agents conducted two searches of the homes of Project associates Veritas in 2021.
Harris’ conviction comes after months of rescheduling that tested the prosecution. His original sentencing date was scheduled for Dec. 6, 2022. Harris then requested that his sentencing be postponed 10 additional times, often citing child custody needs, according to court records.
In one of those requests – a day before she was to be sentenced – Harris’ lawyers said she was “ill, did not have child care and could not appear in court tomorrow.”
Harris then failed to provide medical records “in a timely manner,” according to court records, and officials later learned “that the claim that the defendant had ‘no child custody’ was false.
“The defendant has repeatedly and consistently used tactics intended to unduly delay these proceedings, including misleading the court with false information to justify late and undeserved adjournment requests, refusing to appear when asked and failing to comply with court orders to disclose or produce certain information. information,” Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a memo sent to Swain last week. “By this conduct, the accused demonstrated a complete disregard for the orders of the Court and the proper administration of this legal process.”
“The defendant’s blatant disregard for the law, including the orders of this Court – even after pleading guilty in this matter – demonstrates an abdication of responsibility for her conduct and speaks strongly in favor of “a prison sentence,” Williams added.
Harris was asked to report to prison in July, the AP reported.
Mariana Alfaro contributed to this report.
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