Judge Emmet Sullivan postponed former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s sentencing by about a month, as he considers Flynn’s request to withdraw his guilty plea.
Sullivan deferred his ruling on Flynn’s motion to withdraw his plea and asked for additional filings. He set the sentencing date, initially January 28, for February 27.
Flynn originally pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts and also cooperated with then-special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
He seemed bound for a slap-on-the-wrist sentencing until he filed a memo to downplay his guilt, a move which bothered the judge enough that Flynn’s lawyers sought to delay the sentencing.
Since then, Flynn has taken new lawyers aboard and adopted a more adversarial attitude towards the Justice Department and investigation into his actions. Prosecutors have changed their tune to call for a zero-six month prison sentence.
“It is beyond ironic and completely outrageous that the prosecutors have persecuted Mr. Flynn, virtually bankrupted him, and put his entire family through unimaginable stress for three years,” Flynn’s motion for plea withdrawal request read.
Correction: Flynn has requested to withdraw his guilty plea. The judge must approve the request.
