Judge dismisses Michael Flynn's Justice Department allegations, schedules his sentencing date

(Image credit: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

published 17 December 2019

Michael Flynn, President Trump's first national security adviser, is finally going to find out his legal fate, more than two years after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russia's ambassador and agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In an 92-page decision Monday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., scheduled Flynn's sentencing for Jan. 28 while dismissing Flynn's motion to hold prosecutors in contempt and rejecting his argument that he was entrapped.

Flynn's cooperation with the Justice Department cooled earlier this year when he fired his legal team and brought on attorney Sidney Powell. "After prosecutors described Flynn as a model cooperator and both sides asked a judge for a sentence of probation, Flynn alleged in August that prosecutors withheld classified information and other evidence that his attorneys asserted should lead to the dismissal of his entire prosecution," The Washington Post reports. Sullivan rejected that argument and Flynn's new allegation that prosecutors coerced his plea deal.

Sullivan listed several reasons why Flynn did not win his document requests, writing that he "agrees with the government that to the extent it exists the requested information is inculpatory and not helpful to Mr. Flynn."

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Sullivan also rebuked Powell for apparently plagiarizing a Supreme Court decision in her filing. Marcy Walker, who has been following the case closely, does not think Powell did Flynn any favors.

"Flynn could still move to withdraw his guilty plea and face a potential trial, or appeal a conviction," the Post reports, "but he faces a tougher legal path ahead to avoid a potential prison term at sentencing."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.