The Justice Department rejected a federal judge’s order to release the transcripts of wiretapped conversations retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn had with a Russian envoy.
Prosecutors also declined to produced unredacted portions of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report that had to do with Flynn, who assisted Trump’s 2016 campaign and briefly served as national security adviser in 2017.
Little explanation was given beyond stating that the materials were not relevant to Flynn’s sentencing.
“The government further represents that it is not relying on any other recordings, of any person, for purposes of establishing the defendant’s guilt or determining his sentence, nor are there any other recordings that are part of the sentencing record,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing Friday in response to an order by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan.
Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI about his communications with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, which were about sanctions during the transition before Trump took office, and reached a plea deal to cooperate with Mueller’s team. Flynn has yet to be sentenced and is still working with Justice Department prosecutors in a criminal case against Bijan Kian, his former lobbying partner who worked for the Turkish government.
The Justice Department did comply with Sullivan’s order to release a transcript of a Nov. 22, 2017, voicemail that former Trump lawyer John Dowd left for Flynn’s lawyer Rob Kelner shortly after Flynn agreed to cooperate with Mueller.
