President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn will not be sentenced yet on charges of lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation.
On Monday, a federal judge indefinitely postponed that sentencing, just weeks after Flynn withdrew the guilty plea he entered more than two years ago, Fox News reported.
Though Michael Flynn’s sentencing was set for Feb. 27, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan announced that he was canceling the hearing “until further order of the court.”
The move came one day after a motion was filed by federal prosecutors to delay deadlines that were approaching in the case, as they sought more information from Flynn’s former lawyers. The former national security adviser, who plead guilty to lying under oath to FBI agents, dismissed the previous D.C. law firm, Covington & Burling, which was representing him, saying they did not serve him adequately.
“The government requests that the Court suspend the current briefing schedule concerning the defendant’s [motion] until such time as the government has been able to confer with Covington regarding the information it seeks,” prosecutors wrote in the motion filed Sunday. “While Covington has indicated a willingness to comply with this request, it has understandably declined to do so in the absence of a Court order confirming the waiver of attorney-client privilege.”
After the DOJ moved to recommend up to 6 months of prison time, Flynn withdrew his guilty plea and cited “bad faith” by the government.
“The prosecution has shown abject bad faith in pure retaliation against Mr. Flynn since he retained new counsel,” Flynn’s new attorneys wrote. “This can only be because, with new, unconflicted counsel, Mr. Flynn refused to lie for the prosecution.”
Deadlines for more filings were set through March by Sullivan, who indicated that a hearing could also be set on Flynn’s request to withdraw his guilty plea. He could face a maximum of 5 years in prison if found guilty on the felony charge of making false-statements, though prosecutors recommended no more than 6 months behind bars.
People on social media were very pleased about this decision, and didn’t wait long to share their gratitude.