Shropshire Star

Ex-Trump aide Michael Flynn seeks to withdraw guilty plea for alleged perjury

The request comes one week after the Justice Department recommended Mr Flynn serve up to six months in prison.

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Michael Flynn

US President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn has filed court papers to withdraw his guilty plea over alleged perjury.

Mr Flynn’s representatives argued that federal prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and breached their deal with him.

The request comes one week after the Justice Department recommended Mr Flynn serve up to six months in prison for lying to the FBI during its investigation into ties between Mr Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Prosecutors had earlier said Mr Flynn was entitled to avoid prison time because of his extensive cooperation, with a different stance taken after he hired new lawyers who levelled accusations of misconduct against the government.

A judge has since rejected those claims.

In the court filing, defence lawyers said the Justice Department is attempting to “rewrite history” by withdrawing its recommendation that Mr Flynn be sentenced to probation and by suggesting he had not been forthcoming or cooperative.

“Michael T. Flynn is innocent. Mr Flynn has cooperated with the government in good faith for two years. He gave the prosecution his full cooperation,” Mr Flynn’s lawyers wrote.

“He endured massive, unnecessary, and frankly counterproductive demands on his time, his family, his scarce resources, and his life.

“The same cannot be said for the prosecution, which has operated in bad faith from the inception of the ‘investigation’ and continues relentlessly through this specious prosecution.”

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