Flynn’s continued cooperation with Mueller delays sentencing

WASHINGTON — In Michael Flynn’s first appearance in federal court since pleading guilty seven months ago, his lawyers confirmed that he continues to cooperate with prosecutors and is eager to be sentenced and wrap up his case.

But it was no clearer after Tuesday’s hearing when President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser’s federal case will conclude.

Flynn’s presence in court in Washington punctured ongoing speculation by conservative media that the prosecution of Flynn is falling apart and that the retired Army lieutenant general might withdraw his guilty plea in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Flynn admitted in December to lying to the FBI about contacts with thenRussian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, becoming one of the first Trump associates to cooperate — and the highest-ranking official charged — in Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Flynn attorney Robert Kelner told the judge his client’s cooperation agreement with prosecutors remains in effect. “General Flynn is eager to proceed (to sentencing) when it is possible. With the cooperation agreement, it really is up to the government to make that determination,” Kelner said.

Flynn has become an important exhibit for some Trump supporters, who argue that he was mistreated by the FBI as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to undermine the president.

Some Republicans in Congress have been questioning whether Flynn was pressured unfairly to plead guilty. In May, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, complained in a letter that James Comey, then the FBI director, had told the committee in 2017 that the agents who interviewed Flynn about his interactions with the Russian ambassador “did not believe (Flynn) intentionally lied” about the conversation.

Flynn did not speak in court Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia called for the hearing after the defense and prosecutors jointly asked him on June 29 to begin sentencing preparations, while at the same time saying it was too soon to set sentencing given the “status” of the ongoing investigation.

Sullivan asked why he should break with his usual practice, which is to set a sentencing date at the same time he launches the pre-sentencing review. Dissatisfied with the response, Sullivan directed Flynn to come to court.

The pre-sentencing report is an investigation into whether a person’s background may warrant a harsher or more lenient sentence, takes 70 to 90 days to prepare and is a necessary step in the federal system before sentencing. However, prosecutors are not required to set a sentencing date even after the report is complete.

If a 60-day clock for sentencing were to start on Aug. 24, Flynn could be sentenced before November’s congressional elections.