The federal judge overseeing Flynn’s criminal case is demanding answers from Special Counsel Robert Mueller after former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s legal team made the allegation that the FBI had pushed him not to bring a lawyer to his Jan. 24, 2017 interview with agents at the White House.
Late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered Special Counsel Robert Mueller to turn over all of the government’s documents and “memoranda” related to Michael Flynn’s questioning. The judges demand puts Mueller under the microscope, and sets a 3:00 p.m. EST Friday deadline for the special counsel’s office to produce the sensitive FBI documents.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan is still weighing up how to sentence Flynn, who pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal authorities during the 2017 interview in the White House. Flynn faced mounting legal bills that forced him to sell his home amid the prosecution, and Mueller has already recommended he receive no prison time.
Judge Sullivan’s brief order states that Robert Mueller can choose to file the materials under seal if necessary.
Sullivan also ordered the Flynn team to turn over the documents backing up its assertions. The judge could determine why the FBI apparently took a significantly more aggressive tack in handling the Flynn interview than it did during other similar matters, including the agency’s sit-downs with Hillary Clinton and ex-Trump adviser George Papadopoulos.
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’ is set to be sentenced next Tuesday — but U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan’s move might delay that date, or lead to other unexpected changes in the case. Judge Sullivan even has the authority to toss Michael Flynn’s guilty plea and the charge against him if he concludes that the FBI interfered with Flynn’s constitutional right to counsel, although he has given no indications that he intends to do so.
Fox News reports that “Federal authorities undertaking a national security probe are ordinarily under no obligation to inform interviewees of their right to an attorney unless they are in custody, as long as agents do not act coercively. Flynn’s lawyers claimed in Tuesday’s filing that FBI brass had threatened to escalate the matter to involve the Justice Department if Flynn sought the advice of the White House Counsel before talking with agents.”
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