Disgraced former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was forced to face chants of “lock him up!” and “USA! USA!” as he exited a federal courthouse Tuesday afternoon. The chants echo those Flynn himself made and applauded (below) during Trump campaign rallies, when he now infamously said, “lock her up,” referring to Hillary Clinton.
Clinton was never charged with any crimes, and was cleared of any illegal acts, but Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government. There are other potential crimes Flynn may have committed for which he was not charged.
Flynn on Tuesday was blasted by the sentencing judge, Emmet Sullivan, who told him he had “sold out” his country, and even asked prosecutors if they had considered charges of treason against Flynn. Judge Sullivan later walked back those questions.
But he did make clear his disgust, as these quotes reveal:
“You were an unregistered agent of a foreign country will serving as the National Security Adviser to the president of the United States!”
“Arguably this undermines everything this flag over here stands for!”
“This is a very. Serious. Offense. A high-ranking senior official of the government making false statements to the FBI while on the physical premises of the White House.”
Flynn will get to spend Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, and more with his family. There is now a status hearing scheduled for March 13, 2019. No actual sentencing date has been rescheduled.
Here’s Flynn’s infamous “lock her up” comment at the 2016 RNC convention: