Trump wishes Michael Flynn ‘good luck’ on sentencing day

By: Yaron S.

President Donald Trump gave a shoutout Tuesday to Michael Flynn, wishing the former national security adviser “good luck” hours before he is sentenced in federal court for lying to the FBI.

“Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign,” the president said in a tweet.

“There was no Collusion!” he added.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan is expected to sentence the retired Army lieutenant general — who pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak — at 11 a.m. in Washington.

Special counsel has Robert Mueller has asked for no jail time and a lenient sentence, citing Flynn’s “substantial assistance” in the ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Team Trump and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Flynn told investigators early last year that he had not discussed US sanctions against Russia with Kislyak, when in fact he had, according to his plea agreement.

Lying to the bureau carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in the slammer, though Flynn’s plea agreement states that he is eligible for a sentence of between zero and six months. He also can ask the court not to impose a fine.

His lawyers have asked the court for a sentence of probation of no more than one year, with minimal conditions of supervision, as well as 200 hours of community service.

Flynn’s legal team said in a recent court filing that he also deserves leniency because he was not warned before meeting agents that it was a crime to lie to the FBI.

His lawyers also said that then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe had told Flynn that the “quickest way” to conduct the interview was without an attorney present.

Prosecutors fired back: “He does not need to be warned it is a crime to lie to federal agents to know the importance of telling them the truth.”

On Monday evening, the dispute — and a judge’s intervention — led prosecutors to publicly file a five-page redacted account of Flynn’s January 2017 interview with the feds that bolster the case, showing he told the FBI things he later said were false.

The president denies there was any collusion and has repeatedly labeled the probe a “witch hunt.” Russia also denies it meddled in the election, contrary to the conclusion of US intelligence.

Flynn — one of Trump’s most staunch supporters, who’d led “Lock her up!” chants about Hillary Clinton at during the president’s rallies — held the White House job for only 24 days.