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Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
The lawyers of Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser, ask a judge to spare him a prison sentence, saying he was assuming his responsibilities and cooperating closely with the authorities, which lasted more than a year. 62 hours and included the delivery of "large categories" of documents
The lawyers ask Flynn not to benefit from more than one year of probation, with a minimum of supervision, and 200 hours of collective work.
"The day he pleaded guilty," defense lawyers Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony wrote, "he said that he was trying to turn around the situation." Did. "
The document filed Tuesday night contains character references praising Flynn's 33-year military career, including four bronze stars and other marks of recognition. Retired General Jack Keane attributed to Flynn a revolution in the use of intelligence by the military during the wars that followed the wars after September 11, 2001. Flynn took the helm of the Defense Intelligence Agency, but was left out by the Obama administration.
New details on how Flynn managed to lie in an interview with FBI agents at the White House on January 24, 2017. The lawyers stated that Flynn had received a call from the Deputy Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe. The two men discussed a recent training session, and McCabe said two FBI agents should sit with Flynn to discuss his contacts with Russian officials. Flynn accepted the meeting without the presence of a lawyer
Less than two hours later, FBI agent Peter Strzok and another officer came for the interview. The officers then said that Flynn was relaxed and offered to show them around the West Wing of the White House. Flynn's lawyers said he had not received any warning regarding the penalties incurred for any misrepresentation.
These penalties are now too clear. Under sentencing guidelines, Flynn is liable to a term of imprisonment ranging from zero to six months. Special advocate Robert Mueller's lawyers congratulated Flynn for its unwavering cooperation in connection with the investigation into Russia's attack against the 2016 election and to find out if Americans linked to the Trump campaign had contributed to this conspiracy. Prosecutors added last week that they believed Flynn should not serve a prison term, if any.
Flynn's lawyers acknowledged that he had acknowledged that lying to the FBI about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador at the end of 2016 was a mistake. And, they said, even after President Trump and congressional Republicans accused former FBI deputy director, McCabe, and former agent, Strzok, Flynn refused to give up his agreement advocacy. Both McCabe and Strzok were fired, just as Flynn was forced to leave the White House in obscure circumstances.
The Flynn legal team said it has reviewed 13 similar cases of false statements over the last decade, finding only two cases of imprisonment. was imposed on the accused. The two men were also prosecuted by the special advocate. Lawyer Alex van der Zwann served for 30 days. Former Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos left the prison Friday after serving his 14-day sentence. None of these men cooperated as Flynn, according to his lawyers.
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