Mueller's Office Reports Flynn's Cooperation with Investigation into Russian Interference in US Elections

Reports indicate that Robert Mueller's office, the special investigator for the probe into Russian interference in the US elections, has not requested imprisonment for Michael Flynn, former national security advisor to the US President, due to his "substantial assistance" to the investigation. According to Reuters, parts of Mueller's recommendation regarding Flynn were released on Tuesday, December 4. The report states that prosecutors specified in this recommendation that Flynn met and interviewed with the investigation team regarding Russian interference in the elections 19 times. The petition states that imprisonment for Flynn in this regard is "not appropriate or necessary." The note mentions: "The defendant has provided firsthand information regarding the content and context of interactions between the transition team (of the elected president) and Russian government officials." Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Last December, Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI regarding his contacts with the Russian ambassador in Washington. Reuters reports that such a crime could lead to a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for Flynn, but due to his cooperation agreement with the prosecution, he could be sentenced to six months in prison or less without a fine. According to this report, Flynn's sentencing is set to be issued in two weeks, on December 18. Flynn served only 24 days as national security advisor at the beginning of Donald Trump's presidency before being dismissed. At that time, the reason for Flynn's resignation was announced as not telling Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, the truth about his contacts with Russian officials. Flynn had served in senior military positions, including as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. In his resignation letter, Flynn stated that during the transition period between the Trump administration and the previous government, he had multiple contacts with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US, and provided Mike Pence with "incomplete" information regarding the content of these contacts. US intelligence agencies concluded in their reports that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election and attempted to change the election results through hacking and false propaganda. The US Department of Justice appointed Robert Mueller, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (FBI), as a "special investigator" to lead the investigation on May 17 last year. In August, Mueller formed a grand jury to review documents related to this case, and then in the fall, the first charges and subsequent arrests were made in this regard. Russia has denied the allegations of interference in the elections. Donald Trump has also emphatically denied any "collusion" between his campaign and Russia, describing the formation of the special committee as "a partisan witch hunt."