Wow, that was awkward. Flynn and his supporters thought he could cooperate with the FBI while simultaneously claiming victimhood at their hands.
It all fits into a narrative that Trump is trying to build that, although crimes are crimes, they aren't [i]really[/i] crimes ... and anyway what about Hillary?
It did not go over well with the Judge, who basically told Flynn to take some time to think about what he did, and come back when he's ready to be serious.
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Putting that stuff into the sentencing papers seemed like a really dumb move with this judge as far as Flynn is concerned, but I don't think it's going to hurt him much in the long run, and it may help him in getting a pardon down the road.
@MistyCee It has hurt him in the short-run, and while it might help him with Trump and a certain constituency in the medium term, he's tied his fate to theirs.
I don't think they are going to fare well in the medium term.
@jackjjackson Well, except 3 more months of very expensive legal fees, and a prosecution sentencing recommendation that went from no jail time to minimal jail time, and a pissed off judge who is asking about how he can add more time to that.
The way it works is when a judge makes remarks like those of his today he is no longer capable of being an impartial arbiter and is subject to being replaced. There will be a motion forthcoming. Count on it. @WoodyAq]
@jackjjackson I know I brought up the idea of a recusal motion, and I know it's fun to tweak @WoodyAq about it, but I think I also think i said it would likely be frivolous and suggested it only because it seemed like a slightly less bad plan than trying to get this judge to dismiss.
I wouldn't [i]count[/i] on a recusal motion, and suspect Flynn might be far better off just trying to sell this judge on no jail time without pissing him off by even trying to get another judge who might be worse.
Unless, that is, Flynn really is just lying to Mueller and trying to help him wage war with the judicial system to help Trump's narrative. And if thats the case, he better hope he gets his pardon sooner rather than wait too long.
@jackjjackson I would would not count on it. At all.
Judge Sullivan is widely regarded as a straight-shooter. So much so, that the right-wing bubble thought (predicted) he might upend the whole Mueller investigation.
He didn't (and he literally knows more than we know, about this case).
Flynn has been given a real sweet-heart deal. There is much more he could still be charged with.
Going toe-to-toe with a judge is not going to endear him to Mueller, who can still haul him up alongside his (now-charged) Turkish co-conspirators, or endear him to any new judge, who will be aware of the political context, and won't want to appear compromised himself (the judiciary, of whatever political persuasion in America, fiercely guard their independence).
There is no better deal that Flynn can achieve than the one he just squandered. His best option is to take the time (and continue paying the exorbitant legal bills) and hope he can get back to status quo ante.
Anything else is an expensive way of going to jail.
@WoodyAq quite true, but you're thinking about it as someone who thinks crises are to be avoided.
It seems like Trump thinks of crises as opportunities to be exploited, and is not particularly concerned about the consequences for anyone but himself.
Either way, if Trump is calling the shots for Flynn, I don't think diffusing crises will be a major concern for him.
@WoodyAq I honestly don't think Trump has Flynn under control anymore, and that the garbage in the memo was the result of a dumb move by Flynn's lawyers who've been drinking too much Fox koolaid.
But I'm not sure that the same is not true for Republicans in the Senate either.
@jackjjackson That would be one of a number of potential crimes that would fall under the umbrella of "collusion.". I've posted the statute before, but I'm not going to bother looking for it or any of the others again.
At this point, i'd be happy if when this, or really, any subject came up and the POTUS wouldn't F-ing lie, or if any of his fellow"party members" would even stand up and say... "Ya know, lying is not what we expect and will tolerate."
I haven't heard it yet. What I hear is, Trump is Trump and we want to win.
@jackjjackson Well, the main one was the Russians. Which the Trump campaign knew about, and sought to conspire with, and most likely cooperated with on some yet to be known level.
Interesting side note: Flynn was an unregistered foreign agent for Turkey, and was communicating with the Russians. Manafort was in debt to the Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska.
Today Trump announced (without consulting anyone) that he was pulling out of Syria, as per Russian and Turkish desires, and that he was lifting sanctions on Deripaska's companies.
@jackjjackson Nope. But I do like to keep an eye on elected representatives with obvious and grotesque conflicts of interest.
It's kinda my duty as a citizen not to stick my head in the sand (or up my ass) when these problems manifest themselves. I just wish Republicans felt the same way.
Some republicans pay careful attention while not prejudging and letting the legal process do its thing. Try it. It’s what you would if the parties involved were reversed. @WoodyAq
