Flynn sentencing live blogging: SULLIVAN WARNS FLYNN OF A PRISON SENTENCE, asks about treason...

[MelissaB]

SULLIVAN WARNS FLYNN OF A PRISON SENTENCE: "You were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the National Security Adviser to the president! "Arguably, this undermines everything this flag over here stands for! Arguably, you sold your country out!

Link to tweet

[MelissaB]

1. Sullivan: "I'm not hiding my disgust, my disdain, for this criminal offense."

Sullivan: "I'm not hiding my disgust, my disdain, for this criminal offense." Giving Flynn the chance to delay until he's finished cooperating, Sullivan says he "can't promise anything" about the sentence he's about to hand down.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I'm watching this - sounds like the judge is saying,

if you have more to tell, better spill it now if you don't want to go to jail.

[dalton99a]

3. Flynn is a traitor to this country.

Plain and simple

[MelissaB]

4. "You were an unregistered agent of a foreign country will serving as the National Security Adviser t

"You were an unregistered agent of a foreign country will serving as the National Security Adviser to the president of the United States!" "Arguably this undermines everything this flag over here stands for!"

Link to tweet

[MelissaB]

5. DID FLYNN COMMIT TREASON?

DID FLYNN COMMIT TREASON? Sullivan is now asking the special counsel's office whether it ever considered charging Flynn with treason. Prosecutor Brandon Van Grack struggles to answer, saying it wasn't considered.

Link to tweet

[Hermit-The-Prog]

22. hope this ends the arguments about a shooting war

There have been assertions that the charge of treason requires actual war or hostilities under the law of war. This judge's comments should end that argument. (Doesn't make it any easier to prosecute such a charge, though).

It's doubtful that the judge was simply trying to scare Flynn.

[Codeine]

41. The judge had to walk that back

"I felt terrible about that," Sullivan says, after the prosecutor notes Flynn's conduct as a foreign agent ended in mid-Nov 2016. "I'm not suggesting he committed treason," Sullivan adds, further apologizing for his remarks in the prior session.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

43. yes

With Mueller recommending the low end of the sentencing guidelines, even zero time, it would look bad for the judge to continue along that line. Any incarceration at all might be appealed after that stern rebuke. The apology and the delay should help make the eventual sentence appeal-proof.

Not to mention scaring the crap out of Flynn. That might make him sing a little sweeter to Mueller's team.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. So if Flynn does get any time, the question will be.....

....does the Madman pardon him by this afternoon?

[ffr]

7. I think Sullivan feels the rage we all feel towards traitors to the United States

These paper patriots in the KGOP.

[JenniferJuniper]

8. Lock him up.

[Glimmer of Hope]

9. Wow. He is a traitor.

[njhoneybadger]

10. You sold your Country out

Judge Emmet Sullivan

[MelissaB]

11. They're now taking a recess until 12:30, at Flynn's request.

Link to tweet

[Roland99]

14. Odds he's calling Twitler for a pardon??

[JenniferJuniper]

15. To change his undies, no doubt.

[MelissaB]

18. Judge Sullivan has recessed Flynn's sentencing hearing until 12:30 p.m. to give Flynn and his lawyer

Judge Sullivan has recessed Flynn's sentencing hearing until 12:30 p.m. to give Flynn and his lawyers a chance to rethink everything that's been discussed so far today w/ respect to postponing this entire proceeding.

Link to tweet

This isn't going the say Flynn planned. He should have NEVER put that shit in writing to the judge.

[MelissaB]

12. Holy shit!

[Docreed2003]

13. Lock his ass up

[Stellar]

16. He's sold his country out. Lock his monkeys up! nt.

[Blaukraut]

17. Actually nothing arguable about it. "Inarguably" would be more fitting n/t

[Poiuyt]

19. "Arguably, this undermines everything this flag over here stands for!"

"Arguably, you sold your country out!"

You can drop the "arguably."

[Bob Loblaw]

20. Give him a gun

and one bullet.

[Ponietz]

45. Well put nt

[OnDoutside]

21. The BIG question is why Trump is still not attacking Flynn ? Does he have a JDA and isn't that

why Mueller scrapped Manafort's plea deal ? It still doesn't make sense.

[UpInArms]

23. Is this the smocking gun?

[MelissaB]

24. Sullivan begins by BACKTRACKING on his remarks that Flynn was an unregistered foreign agent while wo

Sullivan begins by BACKTRACKING on his remarks that Flynn was an unregistered foreign agent while working in the White House, and that he may have committed treason.

Link to tweet

[MelissaB]

25. "I felt terrible about that," Sullivan says...

"I felt terrible about that," Sullivan says, after the prosecutor notes Flynn's conduct as a foreign agent ended in mid-Nov 2016. "I'm not suggesting he committed treason," Sullivan adds, further apologizing for his remarks in the prior session. - Steven Portnoy

[mr_lebowski]

37. How the hell does anybody really know when his 'conduct as a foreign agent' ended?

Nice of the PROSECUTORS to proffer that on the DEFENDANTS behalf, but there's actually no real way of knowing just when he stopped being a FOREIGN AGENT.

Flynn is the only one who knows when he stopped acting as a traitor.

[MelissaB]

26. more

Judge Sullivan is now trying to walk back some of his rhetoric before the break. Says he was just asking about treason, not saying that Flynn committed it. “Don’t read too much into the questions I asked.” Sullivan says he couldn’t even tell you what the elements of treason are.

Link to tweet

[leftynyc]

27. He's going to let him walk

Community service and probation.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

31. may be worried about appeal

Appeals have been won because a judge appeared too emotional in a ruling.
No judge likes to be overturned.

[leftynyc]

35. That and

that both prosecution and defense were largely in agreement about no jail time.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

36. including down to no jail time

Mueller's team recommended sentencing at the low end of the guidelines, even zero incarceration time.

Given that, a harsh sentence after the judge's remarks could be an opening for an appeal -- emotional rather than reasoned.

[leftynyc]

48. I wouldn't be looking at a harsh sentence

I'd give him 3 months. That's a gift.

[MelissaB]

28. Flynn's lawyer asks for delay in sentencing.

[MelissaB]

30. BREAKING: Flynn's attorneys say they are now taking the judge up on his offer to delay today's sente

BREAKING: Flynn's attorneys say they are now taking the judge up on his offer to delay today's sentencing because he's still cooperating with prosecutors.

Link to tweet

[Hermit-The-Prog]

34. thanks for rapid updates throughout!

[UpInArms]

29. Sentencing is delayed

Link to tweet

?s=20

[MelissaB]

32. And so it ends... today.

I would have paid to watch this hearing on tv.

[True Dough]

33. Well, Judge Sullivan

You just opened up a hole big enough for the ReThugs to drive a Mack truck through. Even though Flynn is a guilty party, right-wingers everywhere are going to question the judge's competency over the treason remarks. Argh!

[mr_lebowski]

39. True perhaps, but the Judge in this case is not being asked to adjudicate any charges

Flynn has already pled guilty. This is not a trial.

I think Sullivan's already decided he's getting no time, due to what Prosecutors are asking for, but he was simply getting it off his chest that he thinks it's ridiculous that Flynn is going to get off this easy.

I would also guess that his main goal at this point would be to make certain that since Flynn is going to get off super-easy, then the Government needs to get AS MUCH info out of the guy as possible.

[True Dough]

40. I won't argue with anything you've written

I just wish everything was as iron-clad as Mueller is undoubtedly working to make it. To have a judge suggest that an accused might be guilty of treason and then backtrack just looks completely unprofessional. Stick to the facts and charges at hand!

[mr_lebowski]

42. And I don't disagree with you either really ... either he shouldn't have brought it up

Which would've probably been better, or failing that, he should not have backtracked after the recess. That was indeed a bad combo of events.

But when the wingnuts try to make this 'case' you describe, we can counter with 'this judge isn't deciding guilt, this isn't a trial', and 'Sullivan is quite well known for protecting the rights of defendants against government prosecutors overreach. As such, the fact that he clearly believes Flynn was UNDER charged rather than OVER charged ... is not a good sign for Flynn'.

[Cheviteau]

47. Let's Parse The Punishment

Judge Sullivan just handed down a much harsher sentence to Flynn than any short time jail sentence. He just connected the word treason to Mike Flynn. And I think that's exactly what he meant to do. No one, family or friend, will ever be able to look at Flynn again and not think of him as once being treasonous to his country.
That, dear reader, is one harsh penalty. Let that sink in. Put yourself in Flynn's shoes, to be forever branded in the minds of your fellow citizens.

[EllieBC]

38. So after the recess Flynn requested the judge started

backtracking?

Yeah nothing weird there...

[Honeycombe8]

44. Are we supposed to know who Sullivan is?

If it's a judge, that's Judge Sullivan. So I guess it's one of the lawyers?

[orleans]

46. how long is that delay in sentencing going to be?

or: when should we tune in again?