- Title: Former Trump adviser Flynn arrives for sentencing on charge of lying to FBI
- Date: 18th December 2018
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 18, 2018) (REUTERS - Broadcasters: NONE Digital: NONE) FORMER WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER MIKE FLYNN GETTING OUT OF HIS CAR AND APPROACHING THE COURTHOUSE FLYNN ENTERING THE COURTHOUSE, AS PROTESTERS CARRYING PLACARDS FOLLOW HIM
- Embargoed: 1st January 2019 15:07
- Keywords: Donald Trump Michael Flynn Mike Flynn Robert Mueller sentencing
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA0019BH3EBR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A judge will decide on Tuesday (December 18) whether former national security adviser Michael Flynn should be sent to prison for lying to the FBI in a case stemming from an investigation into possible collusion between President Donald Trump's election campaign team and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 vote.
Hours before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan was to sentence Flynn in Washington at a hearing at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT), Trump appeared to offer support for his former aide.
"Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. 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!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian interference, has asked Sullivan not to imprison Flynn, a former general, because of his military service and his "substantial" cooperation with the probe.
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to FBI agents about his conversations with Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador in Washington at the time.
Flynn told investigators in January 2017 that he had not discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Kislyak, when in fact he had, according to his plea agreement.
Lying to the FBI carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Flynn's plea agreement states that he is eligible for a sentence of between zero and six months, however, and can ask the court not to impose a fine.
Flynn's lawyers have asked the court for a probation term of no more than one year, with minimal conditions of supervision, and 200 hours of community service. They said he deserved leniency because he was not warned before the meeting with FBI agents that it was a crime to lie to them. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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