FBI Lawyer Who Lied To Surveil Trump Aide Is Begging For Mercy: ‘My Wife Is Pregnant — I Was Spread Thin And Exhausted At Work Also In My Personal Life’

Ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith’s legal team is pleading with a judge not to send him to jail for lying to secure surveillance orders against President Trump’s 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page.

In August, Clinesmith agreed to plead guilty to making false statements when he doctored an email submitted as evidence to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The discovery was made by US Attorney for Connecticut John Durham’s team reviewing the FBI’s Russia investigation.

The disgraced attorney faces up to five years in jail, though sentencing guidelines reportedly call for a maximum of six months behind bars.

Clinesmith’s legal team claimed in court papers that he “cut a corner” because he was overworked and “exhausted.”

“In short, when Kevin altered the email in June 2017, he was spread thin and exhausted at work and in his personal life,” his legal team said.

US District Judge James Boasberg is expected to hand down Clinesmith’s sentence on Thursday.

Boasberg also serves as a judge on the surveillance court, which is comprised of federal judges who hear cases dealing with efforts to spy on suspected terrorists and spies.

Federal prosecutors are seeking at least three months in prison.

“It is plausible that his strong political views and/or personal dislike of the current President made him more willing to engage in the fraudulent and unethical conduct to which he has pled guilty,” prosecutors said in a filing.

“While it is impossible to know with certainty how those views may have affected his offense conduct, the defendant plainly has shown that he did not discharge his important responsibilities at the FBI with the professionalism, integrity, and objectivity required of such a sensitive job position.”

Despite the fact that his wife is pregnant, prosecutors said: “Defendant’s family circumstances are not so unusual as to warrant special consideration.