A federal judge on Monday rejected former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s allegation that prosecutors improperly withheld key evidence from his defense team prior to him entering a plea agreement over charges of lying to federal law enforcement.
Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that Flynn had failed to prove that any of the material that the government did not give to his lawyers would have affected his decision to plead guilty. The judge went on to schedule Flynn’s long-delayed sentencing for Jan. 28.
“The sworn statements of Mr. Flynn and his former counsel belie his new claims of innocence and his new assertions that he was pressured into pleading guilty to making materially false statements to the FBI,” wrote Sullivan, who was appointed by former President Clinton.
Click Here: Japan Rugby Shop
ADVERTISEMENT
“And it is undisputed that Mr. Flynn not only made those false statements to the FBI agents, but he also made the same false statements to the Vice President and senior White House officials, who, in turn, repeated Mr. Flynn’s false statements to the American people on national television,” Sullivan added.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in late 2016, and agreed to cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation.
Earlier this year, Flynn fired his legal team from the law firm Covington & Burling and hired Sidney Powell, a conservative firebrand who’s been an outspoken critic of the Justice Department.
Flynn in August asked the court to hold prosecutors in contempt for withholding evidence and alleging improprieties involving investigators in the special counsel’s office.
Flynn’s attorney did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
–Updated at 3:43 p.m.