The real reason Robert Mueller is suddenly moving to sentence Michael Flynn to prison
It’s been nearly ten months since Donald Trump’s White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn cut a cooperating plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In that time, we’ve seen Mueller and Flynn repeatedly agree to delay Flynn’s eventual prison sentencing, which was a sign that they were still cooperating. However, that has all changed today.
Robert Mueller and Michael Flynn faced yet another sentencing deadline today. This time, instead of jointly filing for yet another delay, they jointly filed a request asking the judge for a sentencing date. The filing is one page long and provides no details about what prompted the move. That said, because it’s a joint filing with neither side disputing anything, there is no reason to necessarily believe that this is a George Papadopoulos situation, where Mueller abruptly moved to sentence Papadopoulos while accusing him of violating the terms of the deal. So what’s really going on here?
Some are pointing to Michael Flynn’s connection to last week’s alt-right rally, and suggesting that Robert Mueller may be busting him for it. However, while the people hosting this rally are disgusting and deranged, that doesn’t mean that Flynn would necessarily have violated his plea deal agreement by participating in it. Flynn isn’t required to be on “good behavior” as if he were on parole; he’s simply required to cooperate with the investigation and not sabotage it in any way. Instead we’re more inclined to look at something else that happened late last week.
Michael Flynn long ago told Robert Mueller everything he knows about Trump-Russia and whatever was going on in the early days of Donald Trump’s White House. The only reason for Robert Mueller to continue delaying his sentencing is if he still needs Flynn’s ongoing help with things that are still unfolding. On Friday, Paul Manafort unexpectedly cut a plea deal of his own. Now suddenly Mueller has decided he no longer needs Flynn’s ongoing help. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence.
