The Flynn Recommended Sentencing Bullshittery Reminds Me of My Students

[ProudLib72]

Last edited Tue Dec 11, 2018, 11:49 PM - Edit history (1)

This is something I have only noticed in the last few years: the expectation of reward for honesty. A student will not hand in a paper on time. When I ask why, the response will be along the lines of, "I had to babysit my sister, and I just didn't have time. But at least I'm being honest." It's that last part I want to concentrate on here for a moment. Since when did simply being honest mean absolution of all wrong doing? I am an educator, damn it, not a fucking Catholic priest! If you don't turn in your paper, you get a zero. That's what you earned by not doing your job for my class.

So let's turn to the Flynn situation. He committed felonies! He committed them knowing full well they were felonies! So now that he has told the truth, both his counsel and the prosecutor feel that his honesty should be enough and he shouldn't serve any time? This simply does not make any sense whatsoever to me. For example, if I knowingly run over and kill someone but months later turn myself in to the cops and tell them everything, should I be let loose? I was being honest with the cops. Shouldn't I be rewarded for my honesty? Now, you may take the stance (as his counsel has) that the FBI did not inform him that he was being questioned regarding his Russian connections. Pardon me if I think that is the single most bullshittery excuse ever. To believe this would mean you have to believe the National Security Advisor had no idea that is was wrong to enlist the aid of foreign nationals. You would have to believe the National Security Advisor had no idea that he shouldn't lie to the FBI...ever...under any circumstance.

No Mikey, I hope for all of our sake the judge sees through this "reward for honesty" bullshittery and sentences you to the absolute maximum time possible. You deserve that.

[lame54]

1. It's the counter pardon...

Which side is offering a better deal

[empedocles]

2. There may be complexities here

Mueller may have gotten great stuff, not to be yet disclosed, and agreed to super soft sentencing recommendation.

Flynn, as I vaguely recall, did some wild rw stuff after pleading guilty.

Other parties are aware of Flynn wildness and would want to enter it into sentencing considerations.

Judge may want to consider larger picture, and give Flynn prison time - maybe max.

Rachel likes to stick to known facts, and just leaves the speculation out, and leaves situation 'dangling, up in the air'.

'Just sayin', just speculatin' here'

[ProudLib72]

5. Rachel said the judge can ignore the parties' recommendations entirely

That's what I would like to see happen.

[empedocles]

6. Thank you, that needed to be spelled out.

[EarlG]

3. Is the implication here though

that Flynn has done something above and beyond merely being honest? As in, did he actually work on behalf of the prosecutor to get hold of additional information that they didn’t already have or know about (as opposed to just answering their questions without lying)?

Some have speculated that he may have worn a wire, for example.

[ProudLib72]

7. That is a good point

Even so, if my student turned his/her essay in late, I would still have to mark it down. In other words, just because Flynn did his duty by wearing a wire, that doesn't cancel out what he did previously. Maybe he could be demoted.

[EarlG]

11. I agree with you

I guess I can live with it if it’s the only way to bring down a much bigger target, but it can certainly be galling to see people who committed crimes being essentially let off scot-free.

[ecstatic]

4. lol! Good points. It also makes me worry about Mueller.

Seems like we're putting all of our eggs in his basket. I'm not sure I can fully trust him. We already know enough to impeach trump, even without factoring in the Russia probe.

[empedocles]

8. We know enought to make a prima facie case

What is important at this level is a very strong, even beyond a reasonable doubt, case.

Otherwise, the risk to America is very serious.

[Amaryllis]

10. Ditto, and there are a lot of other players as well - GOP leadership, for one. Mueller may be

building a lot of cases against a lot of people. We know this thing has international tentacles and goes wide and deep.

[empedocles]

12. . . . 'wide and deep 'and . . . long.

[former9thward]

9. Maybe you should educate yourself on what he was charged with.

By your summary it is clear you don't know what he was charged with. He was not charged with "felonies". He was charged with a felony. He was not charged with "enlist the aid of foreign nationals" Where did you get that from? He was charged with lying to a FBI agent. That was it. The Mueller sentencing filing was completely in line with federal sentencing guidelines.

And "council" is spelled "counsel".

[ProudLib72]

13. Let me just ask you this: Why was Rump warned to get rid of Flynn?

He was charged with lying to the FBI because it was low hanging fruit. That was how they could get him to cooperate with the investigation. The fact is, we don't know all that he admitted to because the report is so heavily redacted. We do know that he was under prior investigation for his ties to Russia.

I edited "counsel". Thanks for that.