President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, receives a slap on the wrist after lying to FBI investigators about his involvement with Russia and the 2016 election campaign.
Due to Flynn’s cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller, Flynn will receive no jail time due to the “substantial assistance” he has provided. Such information is now being used as evidence to solve three ongoing investigations, two of which are unknown to the public.
According to the Press Democrat, “Flynn participated in 19 interviews with prosecutors and cooperated extensively in a separate and undisclosed criminal probe.”
The sentencing recommendation memo that was released last Tuesday by Mueller’s team of prosecutors reveals little information about the scandals in question.
Unfortunately, the entire document is nothing more then a huge cliffhanger.
This is because the most important bits of classified information that are currently being used in Mueller’s investigations are redacted. In fact, nearly all the information is censored from view.
Although, what we do know is that Flynn’s cooperation has led to further knowledge about three investigations, one of them being collusion, a secret agreement between two or more parties.
Flynn has provided information regarding “links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald J. Trump,” as stated in the memmo.
With what little information the public has been given within the sentencing document, there is much room for speculation.
The decision to uphold Flynn from any jail time is very questionable. This is because he is the only person among four other former Trump advisors who has not been penalized for his past. However, all five men have pleaded guilty for false statements made to either the FBI or Congress.
These five men are George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Cohen and Flynn.
According to The Guardian, Papadopoulos, Trump’s former campaign foreign policy adviser, “confessed to making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Russians during the campaign.” He has received a 14-day sentence.
Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chair, is undergoing a maximum of 10 years in prison. “Charges against Manafort are related to his Ukrainian consulting work not Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which is the central issue in the special counsel’s investigation.”
Gates, former Trump campaign supporter, was charged similarly to Manafort but he hasn’t received any jail time as of now because his sentencing has yet to be set.
Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, has been charged with excessive contribution to Trump’s campaign. “This related to payments made to the Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film actor Stormy Daniels.”
Perhaps, unlike Flynn, these men were punished because of the little information they supplied to Mueller and his team.
Although Flynn has been praised for aiding Mueller’s investigation, his wrong-doings shouldn’t be ignored, regardless of the amount of information he has supplied to the special council.
Hopefully, the remainder of the memmo will be released within the next coming weeks and the rest of the country can get a better understanding as to who they should be siding with.
