Government Emphasizes Probation for Michael Flynn

Elliot Setzer
Thursday, January 30, 2020, 12:29 PM

In a Jan. 29 court filing, government prosecutors backed away from an earlier recommendation that former national security adviser Michael Flynn serve up to six months in prison. Instead, prosecutors agreed with the defendant that probation remained a “reasonable sentence” that they would “not oppose.”

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In a Jan. 29 court filing, government prosecutors backed away from an earlier recommendation that former national security adviser Michael Flynn serve up to six months in prison. Instead, prosecutors agreed with the defendant that probation remained a “reasonable sentence,” which they would “not oppose.” The government had changed its position to include prison time after Flynn attacked investigators and undermined the prosecution of his former business partner. The new filing does not explain why prosecutors have changed their position. The filing can be found here and below.


Elliot Setzer is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford Law School and a Ph.D student at Yale University. He previously worked at Lawfare and the Brookings Institution.

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