DOJ asks judge to lock up Michael Flynn: “He has behaved as though the law does not apply to him” – By Igor Derysh (Salon) / Jan 7 2020
“He has behaved as though the law does not apply to him, and as if there are no consequences for his actions”
Federal prosecutors recommended that Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, be sentenced to up to six months in prison after he failed to comply with the terms of his cooperation deal.
Prosecutors previously said Flynn should receive as little as no jail time, but they reversed their position after Flynn refused to accept responsibility for lying to the FBI. Prosecutors said Flynn also tried to “undermine” the prosecution of a former business partner.
Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. Prosecutors did not push for prison time when he was set to be sentenced in 2018, saying at the time that Flynn’s “early cooperation was particularly valuable, because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight regarding events and issues under investigation” by special counsel Bob Mueller.
But Judge Emmet Sullivan was unimpressed and excoriated Flynn for his crime.
“My guess was not one of those defendants was a high-ranking government official who while employed by the president of the United States . . . made false statements on the premises of and in the West Wing of the White House,” Sullivan said. “I am not hiding my disgust — my disdain — for your criminal offense.”
Flynn delayed the sentencing so that he could continue to help prosecutors in an attempt to get the most lenient sentence possible and was scheduled to testify against former business partner Bijan Kian.
Continue to article: https://www.salon.com/2020/01/07/doj-asks-judge-to-lock-up-michael-flynn-he-has-behaved-as-though-the-law-does-not-apply-to-him/
