Monday, March 19, 2018

Judge warns Mike Flynn to cooperate with prosecutors for lighter sentence

A federal judge on Friday stressed to former national security adviser Michael Flynn the importance of cooperating with prosecutors in order to get a reduced sentence.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras accepted Flynn's guilty plea to a single felony count for lying to the FBI about two contacts with Russian officials and told Flynn he faces a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Justice Department attorney Brandon Van Grack said Flynn lied in January about two contacts with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Van Grack said one contact occurred after Flynn "Called a senior official of the presidential transition team" to discuss sanctions while that individual was at the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Flynn was fired from his White House job in February after lying to Vice President Mike Pence about contacts with Kislyak.

Van Grack said that Flynn made "False statements and omissions" in paperwork he filed with the Justice Department in March and Flynn said later in the hearing the prosecutor's allegations were accurate.

The judge said Flynn must check in once a week and would not be held in custody ahead of sentencing.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/judge-warns-mike-flynn-to-cooperate-with-prosecutors-for-lighter-sentence

No comments: