Prosecutors ask to delay Flynn’s sentencing

Prosecutors and attorneys for Michael Flynn expect President Trump’s onetime national security adviser to be finished cooperating with the government in two months, according to a new court filing.

Prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. and Flynn’s new lawyer, Sidney Powell, asked for another delay in his sentencing in a joint status report filed Friday.

They wrote that Flynn may testify at the trial of his former business partner in the Eastern District of Virginia in July, after which his cooperation with the government is likely to be complete. They asked to file another status report within 60 days.{mosads}

The parties also acknowledged that Flynn’s new attorney has a “massive amount of information to process” related to his case before he is sentenced.

“The parties propose filing another status report within 60 days. Based on the current trial date in the EDVA case and estimated length of that trial, the government believes 60 days should provide sufficient time for the defendant to complete his cooperation, which was the basis for the defendant’s request for a continuance,” the filing states.

“Defense counsel’s concerns about the amount of information to review in preparation for sentencing will be addressed again in 60 days, when the defendant’s cooperation is likely to be complete,” it continues.

The developments signal that Flynn is likely to formally move toward sentencing by mid-August. Judge Emmet Sullivan, the federal judge overseeing his case, will have to approve the parties’ request.

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador in December 2017 as part of a deal to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller.

Flynn, who Mueller said provided “substantial assistance” in the Russia investigation, was supposed to be sentenced last December but chose to delay it until he was completely done cooperating on other cases, after Sullivan delivered a scathing rebuke of his conduct in court and suggested he could receive jail time.

Friday’s filing says that Flynn “could be called as a witness at the trial” of Bijan Kian, his former business partner who was indicted for acting as an unregistered agent for the Turkish government. His trial is scheduled to begin on July 15.

Drama hit Flynn’s case earlier this month when he fired his Covington & Burling lawyers and brought on new representation. Powell, a conservative lawyer and commentator, stepped out as Flynn’s new lawyer earlier this week.

Some have speculated that Flynn’s decision to hire Powell, a Mueller critic, could signal he is preparing to take a more aggressive approach as he moves toward sentencing.