This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The sentencing of Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn has been delayed during a live-wire court hearing filled with stunning reversals in which the judge accused him of having “sold your country out”.

Flynn had faced sentencing on Tuesday for the crime of lying to federal investigators about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition period.

But Flynn made the request after US district judge Emmet Sullivan noted that it would be “rare” for him to be sentenced before his cooperation with prosecutors is complete. A member of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team told the judge it was possible that Flynn, who has sat for 19 interviews with Mueller’s team, might not be done cooperating.

The request to delay followed a stern rebuke of Flynn by Sullivan and a warning from the judge that Flynn could go to prison.

In a lacerating lecture before the delay was granted, Sullivan told the retired three-star general: “Arguably, you sold your country out.”

He said: “I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain, for this criminal offense.”

Flynn left the court in Washington without making a statement. Demonstrators outside the courthouse chanted “USA! USA!”, apparently in protest of Flynn, as he got into his vehicle.

Sullivan agreed to delay the sentencing, with a status hearing scheduled for 13 March.

Trump wished Flynn “good luck” just hours before the sentencing, which under federal guidelines could have landed Flynn in prison for up to six months.

Arguably, this undermines everything this flag over here stands for. Arguably, you sold your country out Judge Sullivan

“Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn,” Trump tweeted. “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. There was no Collusion!”

But the hearing quickly took what seemed like a disastrous turn for Flynn – and by extension the president – as Sullivan, who was first appointed to the bench by Ronald Reagan in 1984, issued a stern condemnation of Flynn’s conduct.

“I am going to be frank with you,” Sullivan said. “This is a very serious offense. A high-ranking senior official of the government making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation while on the physical premises of the White House.”

“You were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the national security adviser to the president,” Sullivan continued, referring to secret payments Flynn had taken from an agent for the government of Turkey. “Arguably, this undermines everything this flag over here stands for. Arguably, you sold your country out.”

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After a recess in the hearing, Sullivan backtracked on his characterization of Flynn as a foreign agent, noting that Flynn appeared to have ended his work for Turkey in November 2016 – when he was still a Trump adviser, but before his brief White House tenure. “I felt terrible about that,” Sullivan said.

In a second sally he later retracted, Sullivan asked Brandon Van Grack, a prosecutor with Mueller’s team, whether a treason charge against Flynn had been weighed. “That was not something we were considering,” Van Grack said.

After the recess, Sullivan said he was posing the question out of curiosity. “I’m not suggesting he committed treason,” Sullivan said. The constitution narrowly defines treason as making war on the United States or giving aid and comfort to an enemy in war.

Trump-Russia inquiry: who has Mueller charged and who might be next? Read more

Flynn would have been the first former White House aide to be sentenced in the Russia investigation. The former Trump aide Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison last week, while former aide Paul Manafort awaits sentencing on felony fraud and money laundering charges.

As the hearing opened, Judge Sullivan seized on a dubious argument Flynn’s legal team had made in a sentencing memo. While Flynn accepted guilt, the memo said, he had not been advised before an FBI interview that lying to the agents was illegal.

Sullivan expressed concern that Flynn had not accepted his guilt after all, asking Flynn’s lawyer, Rob Kelner, whether he believed Flynn was entrapped by the FBI. “No, your honor,” said Kelner.

Asked whether he was aware that lying to the FBI was illegal, Flynn replied: “I was aware.”

As part of his plea deal, Flynn admitted he had lied to FBI agents about discussing US sanctions on Russia with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador at the time, during the presidential transition. Flynn also denied conversations he had with Kislyak about a UN security council resolution condemning Israel.

Flynn further admitted to failing to file as a foreign agent for the government of Turkey and making misleading statements when he did file. A company headed by Flynn took in $530,000 in payments from a businessman connected with the Turkish government in exchange for Flynn’s failed efforts to get the US government to extradite the cleric Fethullah Gülen, prosecutors demonstrated.

Flynn’s business partner at the time, Bijan Kian, was indicted on Monday for failure to register as a foreign agent of Turkey. He entered a not guilty plea.

Flynn, 60, is a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and a retired lieutenant general in the US army. He served briefly in the Barack Obama administration but was sidelined in part for his increasingly controversial views on Islam.

Flynn joined the Trump campaign in February 2016 as an adviser on national security issues. He was on Turkey’s payroll when Trump made him national security adviser in November 2016.

At the Republican national convention in July 2016, Flynn became the first major Trump campaign figure to join the Republican crowd in a “lock her up” chant directed at the Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.

“We do not need a reckless president who believes SHE is above the law,” Flynn said, at which the “lock her up” chant began.

“Lock her up. That’s right,” Flynn said. “Yeah that’s right, lock her up.”