The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flynn sentencing delayed
A federal judge Tuesday postponed the sentencing of Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, until next year. Here’s a closer look at the unexpected delay.
Who is Michael Flynn?
Flynn is the highest-ranking aide to Trump to face sentencing in the special counsel’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign. He is a retired three-star general who once headed one of the nation’s most important military intelligence operations, the Defense Intelligence Agency.
What is Flynn accused of?
Flynn pleaded guilty a year ago to misleading the FBI about a series of discussions he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak.
Flynn has now admitted that after the outgoing Obama administration imposed sanctions against Russia for its interference in the 2016 presidential race, he requested that Russia not escalate tensions between the two countries.
But in an interview with the FBI only four days after Trump’s inauguration, Flynn claimed that he did not remember ever asking Kislyak that Russia hold back, according to the agents. Prosecutors have said Flynn’s deceptions impeded the FBI’s investigation.
Trump has said he fired Flynn because he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak.
Flynn also has admitted lying about his lobbying work for Turkey in documents he filed with the Justice Department after he was forced out as the national security adviser.
What happened Tuesday?
Flynn was scheduled to be sentenced, but Judge Emmet G. Sullivan delayed a final decision at a hearing where he accused Flynn of selling out his country.
The delay allows Flynn to continue cooperating with the special counsel’s Russia probe and get credit for it in his punishment.
After reviewing the allegations, Sullivan said, “I can’t hide my disgust, my disdain.”
What sentence does he face?
Flynn faces up to six months in prison, but federal prosecutors have recommended a lenient sentence, including the possibility of probation, because Flynn has provided “substantial help” with multiple criminal inquiries.
Did the FBI try to trick Flynn?
At the sentencing hearing, Sullivan questioned Flynn and his lawyer about their earlier suggestion that FBI agents might have tricked Flynn by failing to inform him before they interviewed him on Jan. 24, 2017, that lying to them would constitute a federal crime.
Flynn told the court that he was not challenging the circumstances of the interview and that he knew lying to the FBI was a crime. In doing so, Flynn distanced himself from Trump’s efforts to suggest misconduct by the FBI in the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
What did White House say?
Trump signaled his continued close interest in the case by tweeting “good luck” to Flynn hours before the sentencing hearing. He added: “Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign. There was no Collusion!”
At the White House afterward, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if the administration had changed its stance on Flynn or the FBI in light of his admissions and guilty plea.
“Maybe he did do those things, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the president,” she said. “It’s perfectly acceptable for the president to make a positive comment about somebody while we wait to see what the court’s determination is.”
Sanders repeated her allegation that the FBI “ambushed” Flynn in the January 2017 interview, and she said of Trump’s criticism earlier in the day, “We don’t have any reason to want to walk that back.”
What’s next?
Sullivan told Flynn that he would take into account Flynn’s extensive cooperation with the government, which includes 19 meetings with investigators as well as a 33-year military career that included service in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he also said he was forced to weigh other factors, including Flynn’s decision to lie to the FBI.
The judge set a new hearing date for March.