Judge tells Flynn he’s disgusted by lies to FBI

Hearing postponed, former Trump adviser could be sent to prison

A federal judge Tuesday abruptly postponed the sentencing of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, declaring himself disgusted and disdainful of Flynn’s crime of lying to the FBI and raising the unexpected prospect of sending the retired U.S. army lieutenant-general to prison.

Lawyers for Flynn, who admitted lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts, requested the delay during the stunning hearing in which U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan told the former Trump aide in a blistering rebuke that “arguably you sold your country out.”

“I can’t make any guarantees, but I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain for this criminal offence,” Sullivan said. The postponement gives Flynn a chance to continue cooperating with the government in hopes of staving off prison and proving his value as a witness, including in a foreign lobbying prosecution brought this week.

The possibility of prison had seemed remote for Flynn, who was smiling and upbeat as he entered the courtroom, since prosecutors had praised his extensive co-operation and didn’t recommend any time behind bars.

But the judge’s upbraiding suggested otherwise and made clear that even defendants like Flynn who have co-operated in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation may nonetheless be shadowed by the crimes that brought them into court in the first place.

The hearing upset what had been a carefully crafted agreement and pushed months into the future a resolution of one of Mueller’s signature prosecutions.

“This is a very serious offence. Ahigh-ranking senior official of the government making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation while on the physical premises of the White House,” Sullivan said.

The judge later softened his tone in addressing Flynn.