Judge indefinitely postpones Michael Flynn’s sentencing

President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn will not be sentenced yet on charges of lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation.

A federal judge indefinitely postponed that sentencing on Monday, weeks after Flynn withdrew the guilty plea he entered more than two years ago, Fox News reported.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Though Flynn’s sentencing was set for Feb. 27, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan announced Monday that he was canceling the hearing “until further order of the court.”

The move came one day after a motion was filed by federal prosecutors to delay deadlines that were approaching in the case, as they sought more information from Flynn’s former lawyers. The former national security adviser, who plead guilty to lying under oath to FBI agents, dismissed the previous D.C. law firm, Covington & Burling, which was representing him, saying they did not serve him adequately.

“The government requests that the Court suspend the current briefing schedule concerning the defendant’s [motion] until such time as the government has been able to confer with Covington regarding the information it seeks,” prosecutors wrote in the motion filed Sunday. “While Covington has indicated a willingness to comply with this request, it has understandably declined to do so in the absence of a Court order confirming the waiver of attorney-client privilege.”

After the Justice Department moved to recommend up to six months of prison time, Flynn withdrew his guilty plea and cited “bad faith” by the government.

“The prosecution has shown abject bad faith in pure retaliation against Mr. Flynn since he retained new counsel,” Flynn’s new attorneys wrote. “This can only be because, with new, unconflicted counsel, Mr. Flynn refused to lie for the prosecution.”

Deadlines for more filings were set through March by Sullivan, who indicated that a hearing could also be set on Flynn’s request to withdraw his guilty plea. The retired Army general could face a maximum of five years in prison if found guilty on the felony charge of making false-statements, though prosecutors recommended no more than six months behind bars.

News of the decision in Flynn’s case came as federal prosecutors recommended longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone be served with a jail sentence of up to nine years on his conviction on false statements and witness tampering charges.

Conservative radio show host and political commentator Buck Sexton remarked last month that Flynn needs to be pardoned by the president, a sentiment echoed by many of Flynn’s supporters.

“I think this whole thing is a scam, it’s a sham, it should never have happened,” he told Fox News., pointing to former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe who also allegedly lied to federal agents but has not been sentenced for a crime.

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, citing a Fox News story on Flynn’s case, tweeted that “It’s Time for Judge Sullivan and DOJ to End the Torture of Gen. Flynn.”

“This travesty of Justice has lasted too long,” Sebastian Gorka tweeted, adding that he should then sue the FBI
“into the ground.”

Others also saw the decision by the judge as a telling sign.

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Frieda Powers

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