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WASHINGTON – Michael T. Flynn's lawyers, the president's first national security adviser, on Friday urged a federal judge to stay the sentence, ostensibly to reiterate the case in which he had acknowledged his case. guilty twice.
The latest move by defense lawyers could upset the federal judge who will convict him, Emmet G. Sullivan, who may have lingering doubts about whether Mr. Flynn actually accepts responsibility for his crime of lying at the FBI and if he had respected his agreement of cooperation with the government in one of the cases still pending of the special council, Robert S. Mueller III.
Justice Sullivan has previously accused Mr. Flynn of implying in previous court documents that the F.B.I. he had instigated to lie when agents questioned him at the White House in January 2017 as part of the investigation into Russia. The judge then sentenced Mr. Flynn in December 2018 to testify for the government against a former trading partner, Bijan Kian, to maximize the assistance provided by Mr. Flynn to prosecutors.
But Mr Flynn changed his story on the eve of Mr Kian's trial for violating foreign lobbying legislation. Mr. Flynn had previously admitted to having lied on foreign lobbying disclosure forms submitted to the Department of Justice, and then, in an unusual twist, accused his former lawyers of filing inaccurate forms without his knowledge.
Prosecutors refused to use Mr. Flynn as a witness in the trial of Mr. Kian, who was sentenced in July, prompting Justice Sullivan to determine whether Mr. Flynn had met his help the government in its advocacy. for a more lenient sentence.
Mr. Flynn's change of course has reinforced speculation that he could make an offer for a grace of the president. A former Trump personal solicitor discussed the possibility with a former lawyer of Mr. Flynn two years ago, while the special attorney was approaching to accuse him, asking the question of whether the president's attorney was trying to influence Mr. Flynn's decision to cooperate. with the special advocate.
The government had previously recommended a sentence of probation without penalty of imprisonment for Mr. Flynn, but the judge could decide to sentence him to imprisonment if he felt that Mr. Flynn lacked contrition. and failed in his obligations. Justice Sullivan had stated that he was disgusted that Mr. Flynn lied illegally to F.B.I. agents and did it at the White House.
"This is a very serious offense," Sullivan J. said at the December hearing. "A senior government official who made false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation while he was on the premises of the White House."
Flynn hired new lawyers in June, including Sidney Powell, who repeatedly attacked the special attorneys' attorneys during his appearances in Fox News.
Ms. Powell told the judge that she also needed a security clearance and access to classified documents related to Mr. Flynn's conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak in the month that followed the election of Mr. Trump. The lies that Mr. Flynn told F.B.I. The agents came in response to questions whether he and Mr Kislyak discussed the sanctions that the outgoing Obama administration has imposed on Russia.
"We must have access to this information to represent our client in accordance with his constitutional rights and our ethical obligations," Flynn's lawyer wrote.
The classified transcripts of the appeals clearly indicate that the two men had a lengthy discussion of the sanctions and that it was highly unlikely that Mr. Flynn would have forgotten these details during their interrogation by the FBI, said several former US officials familiar with the law. documents. The officials said that the sanctions were clearly the only thing Mr. Flynn wanted to talk to Mr. Kislyak.
Mr. Flynn's lawyers also suggested in the submission that the government had defense exhibits, but it is unclear whether they consider the transcripts to be such exhibits.
In their brief response to Mr. Flynn's defense counsel, prosecutors stated in the record that Mr. Flynn's cooperation was over and rejected requests for additional information.
Prosecutors added that they "were not aware of any issues requiring court resolution prior to sentencing" and that "the government was not aware of any classified information requiring disclosure of information to the court. accused or his lawyer.
Justice Sullivan scheduled a hearing on September 10th on the issues in dispute.
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