"This is a very serious offence," Sullivan told Flynn, even after Mueller's prosecutors told the judge they agreed that Flynn should face little to no incarceration because he cooperated with their investigation. Loading The judge pointed to the American flag behind his bench and told the decorated combat veteran that he had undermined it: "Arguably, you sold your country out." Sullivan's angry lecture from the bench, and his suggestion that he was willing to throw Flynn in jail, injected a moment of high drama into the long-running investigation and served as a reminder of the seriousness of the allegations that launched the special counsel's investigation. The move was in keeping with Sullivan's lack of tolerance for official misconduct, lawyers familiar with his court said.

Sullivan also expressed frustration at a lack of information about what Flynn has given Mueller's team. Although the special counsel earlier this month credited the formal national security adviser with providing "substantial assistance" on his probe and another criminal investigation, the judge said it was nearly impossible to render a fair decision on Flynn's sentencing without knowing the details of his cooperation. Ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn gets a dressing down from the judge. Credit:AP At one point, Sullivan accused Flynn of acting as "an unregistered agent of a foreign country, while serving as the national security adviser to the president of the United States." After a recess, the judge apologised for that assertion, acknowledging that lobbying work Flynn did to benefit Turkey ended before he joined the Trump administration. Sullivan, the longest-serving active federal judge on the US District Court in Washington, was first appointed to the District of Columbia Superior Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. He was named to the District appeals court by President George H.W. Bush and appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton.

The product of Houston and Gardner, a storied Washington civil rights law firm, Sullivan is best known for his robust enforcement of the rule that prosecutors must disclose any evidence that could help defendants establish their innocence. Loading Before the 2016 election, Sullivan had criticised Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email address while secretary of state, at one point during a public records lawsuit decrying the "drip, drip, drip" of revelations about her email use. "When does it stop?" he wondered. So Trump's allies were cheered when Sullivan last week ordered Flynn's lawyers and Mueller's team to turn over FBI records detailing agents' interview with Flynn in January 2017. His demand came a day after Flynn's attorneys argued their client deserved no prison time, stressing in a court filing that he had been "unguarded" when telling FBI agents about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition.

Some Flynn allies, including the president, speculated that the judge was probing possible FBI misconduct. "I think it's a great thing that the judge is looking into that situation," Trump told reporters. The president tweeted "good luck" to Flynn early on Tuesday. Arguably, you sold your country out. US District Judge Emmet Sullivan On Fox News, Trump ally and former judge Jeannine Pirro predicted Sullivan would throw out Flynn's conviction. The Wall Street Journal published an editorial alleging that the FBI's treatment of Flynn "reeks of entrapment" and calling on Sullivan to "question the entire plea deal." Sullivan did. But not the way they expected.

On Tuesday, nearly a dozen members of Mueller's team showed up at the downtown Washington courtroom for the hearing, filling the front bench. Flynn, wearing a blue suit, was flanked by his two attorneys. Sullivan quickly indicated that he was offended by Flynn's suggestion that he was misled by FBI agents. And he said it appeared that the former national security adviser was trying to have it both ways: to take a generous plea deal even as he telegraphed that he might have been entrapped. Sullivan said the FBI records showed Flynn had repeatedly lied to agents, despite knowing it was a crime to do so. "You understand why" I was concerned, the judge told Flynn's attorney Robert Kelner. "This sounds like a backpedalling on the acceptance of responsibility." Kelner told the judge that he and co-counsel Steven Anthony were trying to show in their filing how Flynn was different from others who have admitted lying to special counsel investigators, noting that agents did not warn him he was under investigation and he did not have an attorney advising him. But Sullivan rejected that argument, saying Flynn should be held to a higher standard.

"He was a high-ranking government official, advising the president of the United States," Sullivan said. "I'm not hiding my disgust or my disdain for this criminal offence." Sullivan also demanded to know from prosecutor Brandon Van Grack whether Flynn could have been charged with treason. Later, Van Grack told the judge that prosecutors did not believe Flynn committed treason. Nevertheless, Sullivan warned Flynn that he believed Mueller's recommendation that Flynn serve little to no prison time was probably too kind. "I can't promise you a sentence that involves no jail time," the judge said.