President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse on June 24, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wroblewski | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn is ready to be sentenced, federal prosecutors said Friday, but Flynn’s lawyers are demanding more time and access to classified material.
“The case is not ready for sentencing,” Flynn’s lawyers, including the recently hired Sidney Powell, wrote in a joint status report filed in Washington, D.C., district court to Judge Emmet Sullivan.
Flynn’s team argued that they have hundreds of thousands of documents to pore over as part of their review of the case, and have been unable to acquire other information, including transcripts and recordings of phone conversations, “that is either classified or being suppressed by the government.”
“We must have access to that information to represent our client consistently with his constitutional rights and our ethical obligations,” they wrote.
The federal prosecutors disagreed: “The government is not aware of any classified information that requires disclosures to the defendant or his counsel.”
Prosecutors suggested the court another status conference in light of the impasse.
Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration. He was initially supposed to be sentenced in December, but opted to wait until his cooperation was complete after Judge Sullivan excoriated him in his sentencing hearing, saying that “arguably, you sold your country out. “
Flynn had originally been charged as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s election interference and possible coordination with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He had also been seen as a potential witness in the trial of Bijan Rafiekian and Kamil Alptekin, Flynn’s former business partners, who were accused of illegally lobbying on behalf of the government of Turkey.
“Flynn’s cooperation is complete,” his attorneys said in the report. He “cooperated extensively” with Mueller’s office and with prosecutors in the Rafiekian case, they said. “This cost Mr. Flynn more than 100 hours of his time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional legal fees.”
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