Critics of President Trump predicted Tuesday that the seemingly lenient sentencing memo from special counsel Robert Mueller regarding Michael Flynn is indicative of a long-game effort to get a bigger prize.
The court filing states Flynn “has assisted with several ongoing investigations, including its probe of coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government” and suggests no jail time.
Former Hillary Clinton senior adviser Philippe Reines predicted that it quashes the possibility that the former national security adviser will get a pardon from the president.
“Imagine what he gave up on the big guy for Mueller to let him off without prison time,” Reines tweeted. “It’ll be worth it.”
He added, “It also means Flynn knows he gave Mueller so much that when trump finds out exactly how much a pardon will be out of the question.”
It also means Flynn knows he gave Mueller so much that when trump finds out exactly how much a pardon will be out of the question.
— Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) December 5, 2018
Norman Eisen, a one-time Obama White House ethics lawyer and chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, tweeted that Mueller “shifted the consequences to others. Bigly.”
National security lawyer Bradley Moss was more direct. “Flynn ratted out Trump. He told all. That’s your headline,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, called Mueller’s team a bunch of “overzealous media inspired prosecutors” and “sick puppies,” while arguing the memo showed no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia, according to Fox News. Mueller’s team is investigating Trump campaign ties to the Kremlin, along with Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice by the president.
Flynn, 59, briefly served as Trump’s national security adviser from Jan. 20 to Feb. 13, 2017.
Last December, Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
In March, the New York Times reported that a former top member of Trump’s legal team, John Dowd, discussed the prospect of the president pardoning Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort with their respective lawyers last year.
