The Latest: Portions of FBI interview with Flynn released
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on former national security adviser Michael Flynn (all times local):
7:05 p.m.
Portions of the FBI interview notes at the center of the false statements case against Michael Flynn have been released.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's office has publicly filed a redacted version of the document in the case of President Donald Trump's former national security adviser. The move come in response to a federal judge's order ahead of Flynn's sentencing Tuesday.
The documents show that FBI agents interviewed Flynn about his contacts with Russia, including past trips to the country and his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, then Russia's ambassador to the U.S.
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Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about the contents of those conversations with Kislyak. The notes show Flynn told agents he didn't tell Kislyak not to escalate its response to Obama sanctions on Russia. But he admitted last year that he did.
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5:30 p.m.
Michael Flynn may have given extraordinary cooperation to prosecutors, but the run-up to his sentencing hearing Tuesday has exposed raw tensions over an FBI interview in which the former national security adviser lied about his Russian contacts.
Flynn's lawyers have suggested that investigators discouraged him from having an attorney present during the January 2017 interview and never informed him it was a crime to lie. Prosecutors say Flynn did " not need to be warned it is a crime to lie to federal agents to know the importance of telling them the truth."
The mere insinuation of underhanded tactics was striking, since prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller's office have praised Flynn's cooperation and recommended against prison time.
