Author Topic: Byron York: From fishy beginning, Mueller case against Michael Flynn nears end with no-jail recommen  (Read 502 times)

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Offline mystery-ak

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Byron York: From fishy beginning, Mueller case against Michael Flynn nears end with no-jail recommendation
by Byron York
 | December 04, 2018 09:56 PM



Michael Flynn has been waiting for more than a year to be sentenced. The retired three-star Army general, who spent 24 days as the Trump White House national security adviser, pleaded guilty on December 1, 2017 to lying to the FBI in the Trump-Russia investigation. He agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller.

Flynn's sentencing, which has been delayed a number of times for reasons that have never been disclosed, is scheduled to finally take place on December 18. Late Tuesday, Mueller filed what is called a sentencing report. Citing Flynn's "substantial assistance" to the investigation, Mueller recommended "a sentence at the low end of the guideline range -- including a sentence that does not impose a period of incarceration."

It's no surprise Flynn might be spared jail time. So far, two figures in the Trump-Russia matter have been sentenced for lying to investigators, the same offense as Flynn. Alex van der Zwaan, a bit player connected to Paul Manafort, was sentenced to 30 days in jail. George Papadopoulos, a short-time Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, was sentenced to 14 days -- and that was after Mueller complained that Papadopoulos had not been cooperative when he was purportedly assisting the investigation.

Flynn, on the other hand, is a retired general with a long record of service to the United States, which Mueller took into consideration in recommending no jail time. "The defendant's record of military and public service distinguish him from every other person who has been charged as part of the [special counsel's] investigation," Mueller wrote.

What the sentencing recommendation did not address was the sketchy beginnings of the Flynn investigation. It started with the Obama administration's unhappiness that Flynn, during the transition as the incoming national security adviser, had phone conversations with Russia's then-ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak. Because Kislyak was under American surveillance, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies had recordings and transcripts of the calls, in which Flynn and Kislyak discussed the sanctions Obama had just imposed on Russia in retaliation for its 2016 election interference.

There was nothing wrong with an incoming national security adviser talking to a foreign ambassador during a transition. There was nothing wrong with discussing the sanctions. But some officials in the Obama Justice Department decided that Flynn might have violated the Logan Act, a 218 year-old law under which no one has ever been prosecuted, that prohibits private citizens from acting on behalf of the United States in disputes with foreign governments.

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-from-fishy-beginning-mueller-case-against-michael-flynn-nears-end-with-no-jail-recommendation
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Offline edpc

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Flynn's sentencing, which has been delayed a number of times for reasons that have never been disclosed, is scheduled to finally take place on December 18. Late Tuesday, Mueller filed what is called a sentencing report. Citing Flynn's "substantial assistance" to the investigation, Mueller recommended "a sentence at the low end of the guideline range -- including a sentence that does not impose a period of incarceration."


York is an idiot. The reasons were disclosed, each time they filed for an extension - which was done jointly under agreement between special counsel and defense lawyers. Each time, they cited the ongoing investigation, which showed Flynn was integral to it.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/21/robert-mueller-michael-flynn-sentencing-delay-790639
I disagree.  Circle gets the square.