Trump advisor deserves jail time: prosecutors

By James Reinl

LONDON (AA) - Prosecutors for the U.S. government have urged a judge to jail former White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn for up to six months for deceiving federal agents about his contacts with a Russian diplomat.

In a filing that was made available online on Tuesday, federal prosecutors argued that Flynn, also a retired Army lieutenant general, should spend time behind bars for lying over his links to the senior foreign official.

In the sentencing memo, the Justice Department refers to the “serious nature” of the offense and says that Flynn has failed to accept responsibility for his actions and has also taken steps that damage a separate criminal case.

"It is clear that the defendant has not learned his lesson," prosecutors wrote in the filing. "He has behaved as though the law does not apply to him, and as if there are no consequences for his actions."

Flynn, 61, is set to be sentenced by Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington on Jan. 28, more than two years after he pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his discussions with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.

The charges relate to the weeks leading up to United States President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, after which point Flynn became the president’s first National Security Advisor.

Flynn is one of several Trump aides and advisers to be convicted as a result of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference into swinging the 2016 election to the Republican candidate.