MUELLER: NO PRISON FOR FLYNN

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser provided so much information to the special counsel’s Russia investigation that prosecutors say he shouldn’t do any prison time, according to a court filing Tuesday that describes Michael Flynn’s cooperation as “substantial.”

The filing by special counsel Robert Mueller provides the first details of Flynn’s assistance in the Russia investigation, including that he participated in 19 interviews with prosecutors and cooperated extensively in a separate and undisclosed criminal probe. But the filing’s extensive redactions also underscore how much Mueller has yet to reveal.

It was filed two weeks ahead of Flynn’s sentencing and just over a year after he became the first of five Trump associates to accept responsibility by pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

Though prosecutors withheld specific details of Flynn’s cooperation because of ongoing investigations, their filing nonetheless illustrates the breadth of information Mueller has obtained from people close to Trump as the president increasingly vents his anger at the probe — and those who cooperate with it.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommend between zero and six months in prison, and Mueller’s office said Flynn’s cooperation merits no prison time.

Prosecutors said Flynn’s early cooperation was “particularly valuable” because he was “one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight” into the events under investigation. They noted his cooperation likely inspired other crucial witnesses to cooperate.

Flynn’s false statements stemmed from a Jan. 24, 2017, interview with the FBI about his interactions with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s then-ambassador to the U.S., as the Obama administration was levying sanctions on the Kremlin. As part of his plea deal, Flynn said members of Trump’s inner circle were involved in — and at times directing — his actions in the weeks before Trump took office.