Michael Cohen’s attorneys went before a federal judge earlier last week to ask that the former Trump attorney be given no jail time. That did not work out so well. But now it’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s turn to explain why his cooperation with the special counsel’s office should earn him the right to walk out of the courtroom without a looming date for surrendering to federal officers.
As Politico reports, Flynn’s attorneys were in court on Tuesday, and they brought with them a statement about the wonder of Michael Flynn that approaches novel length.
In a 178-page sentencing memo, Flynn’s attorneys pleaded for leniency by citing their client’s “exceptional record of military service” and “his genuine contrition for the uncharacteristic error in judgment that brought him before this court.”
Anything that is 178 pages long can scarcely be described with the word “memo.”
This in-court hagiography would seem to be attorney overkill, considering that the worst Flynn could face is a year and the special counsel’s office has already lauded him for his cooperation and the importance of his early deal to bringing others in out of the cold on the Russia investigation. It was already expected that Flynn would receive probation at best, a token sentence of a few weeks at worst. But his attorneys seem to have conducted a carpet bombing campaign to convey Flynn’s “deep respect for the law” that he broke.
Most of the things that Flynn could be charged with, from illegal foreign lobbying to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, didn’t even make the list of charges, because Flynn’s deal with the special counsel knocked all but a single count off his paperwork.
In any case, it’s unlikely the man who led the “Lock her up!” chant at the Republican National Convention will spend any significant amount of time locked up, sadly enough.
The most notable feature of Flynn’s sentencing documents was the high percentage of redacted information. The meetings that Flynn had with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak during the transition were visible, but those were already known. Much of what Flynn admitted, and what he testified about, was under heavy black bars. It’s apparent Flynn helped with at least one, and possibly two, criminal matters outside of his assistance to the special counsel—but what they are is not at all clear.
Flynn’s sentencing will be on Tuesday, Dec. 18, in a different district court than the one that sentenced Cohen on Wednesday. During the Cohen sentencing, the attorney speaking for the special counsel’s office was notably brief. It’s unlikely that Cohen’s hearing will reveal what’s behind that redacted info.