WASHINGTON: Their fortunes sliding in divergent directions, two former Trump aides are pleading their case to judges Tuesday in hopes of easing the punishment they could face for their crimes.
Lawyers for former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn will make a sentencing recommendation in a court filing due by the end of the day, while Paul Manafort’s defense team is expected to argue that the ex-Trump campaign chairman never intentionally lied to prosecutors.
The defendants represent starkly different paths in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation — a model cooperator on one end, and, prosecutors say, a dishonest and resistant witness on the other.
Both men could be a potential threat to President Donald Trump as Mueller examines whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 campaign.
Prosecutors with Mueller said last week that Flynn had been so cooperative in their investigation, meeting with them 19 times, that he was entitled to no prison time. Flynn’s attorneys are also expected to make the same recommendation for their client, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about his conversations during the presidential transition period with the-then Russian ambassador to the United States.
Since his guilty plea a year ago, Flynn has stayed largely out of the public eye and refrained from discussing the Russia investigation despite encouragement from his supporters to take an aggressive stance.
Tuesday’s filing will be the first opportunity where Flynn’s attorneys, Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony, will lay out his side of the story. The memo is expected to emphasize the retired US Army lieutenant general’s more than 30 years in the military, including five years in combat, and his acceptance of responsibility for his actions early on in the Russia investigation.
The memo could also reflect the toll the investigation has taken on Flynn and his family over the past two years. In a public statement after his plea, Flynn has said he cooperated with prosecutors because it was in “the best interests of my family and our country.”
Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
In Manafort’s case, prosecutors have accused him of repeatedly lying to them even after he agreed to cooperate. They say Manafort lied about his interactions with a longtime associate they say has ties to Russian intelligence, his contacts with Trump administration officials and other matters under investigation by the Justice Department.
Prosecutors have left open the door to filing additional charges against Manafort, who already faces years in prison.
Manafort’s attorneys have denied the allegations and are expected to present more detailed arguments at a court hearing Tuesday in Washington, where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in September.
Manafort faces sentencing in a separate case in Virginia, where he was convicted of eight felony counts related to his efforts to hide millions of dollars he earned from Ukrainian political consulting from the IRS.
Flynn, Manafort to make arguments in Russia probe
Flynn, Manafort to make arguments in Russia probe
- The defendants represent starkly different paths in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation
- Flynn has stayed largely out of the public eye and refrained from discussing the Russia investigation despite encouragement from his supporters to take an aggressive stance.
Locals in Niger say ‘terrorists’ killed 25 near Mali
- “Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor said
- The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group
ABIDJAN: Local sources in western Niger said “terrorists” killed 25 members of a militia in several villages near the Mali border.
“Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor in the commune of Anzourou told AFP — a toll confirmed by a leader from a local civil association.
“There were 25 young self-defense fighters who lost their lives and three others who were wounded and evacuated” to hospitals in Tillaberi town and Niamey, the latter source said.
The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group.
Conflict-monitoring NGO ACLED said that in 2025 Tillaberi became the deadliest region in the central Sahel, with more than 1,200 deaths recorded.
It blamed the violence mainly on the Daesh in the Sahel group, followed by the Nigerien army and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
The association source said the victims came from four neighboring villages — Doukou Makani, Doukou Djinde, Doukou Saraou and Doukou Koirategui.
The Anzourou district is made up of around 50 villages and hamlets in Tillaberi, which borders near the area between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, long the scene of deadly militant attacks.
Niger has been run by a military junta since a coup in July 2023.
For the last decade, the country has been blighted by deadly militant attacks. Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 2,000 deaths, according to ACLED.
With the Nigerien army struggling to contain the attacks, it has tolerated the creation of self-defense militias by villagers, leading to bloody clashes with militants.
In December last year, the military regime in Niamey announced a “general mobilization” and the “requisition” of people and property to better fight the Islamists.
Niger has created a 6,000-strong joint force with Mali and Burkina Faso, countries also run by the military and facing militant violence.
