WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and the Russia investigation (all times local):
7:05 a.m.
President Donald Trump is wishing ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn "good luck" in court as Flynn awaits sentencing for lying to the FBI.
Trump tweeted hours before Flynn's sentencing Tuesday in federal court in Washington that it "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." The president adds: "There was no Collusion!"
In another tweet, Trump again disparages the investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and Russia as a "Witch Hunt."
Flynn's lawyers have suggested investigators discouraged him from having an attorney present during a 2017 interview and didn't inform him lying is a crime, but prosecutors scoff at that argument.
Flynn has cooperated with the Russia investigation.
The special counsel's investigation has produced dozens of criminal charges and four guilty pleas from Trump associates.
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12:25 a.m.
Michael Flynn will likely walk out of a courtroom a free man due to his extensive cooperation with federal prosecutors, but the run-up to his sentencing Tuesday has exposed raw tensions over an FBI interview in which he lied about his Russian contacts.
Flynn has not tried to retract his guilty plea, and there's every indication the sentencing will proceed as scheduled.
Flynn's lawyers have suggested that investigators discouraged President Donald Trump's then-national security adviser from having an attorney present during the January 2017 interview and never informed him it was a crime to lie.
Prosecutors responded that Flynn didn't need to be warned it's a crime to lie to federal agents to know the importance of telling the truth.
