SENTENCING: “A federal judge tore into former national security adviser Michael Flynn during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday by saying he sold out the U.S. while he briefly held his position.”

I’d like to see the DOJ go after all the unregistered foreign agents in DC now. That won’t happen.

UPDATE: Thin gruel:

There have been enough leaks in this case all through the process to prepare us for these sorts of details, but it doesn’t make it any easier to digest. Running down the list, it appears that there are no charges stating that Flynn actually broke the law during his time on the job. In fact, most of what’s detailed in this memo sounds like a case of Flynn doing precisely the sort of things you’d expect a national security adviser to do. (Does it really sound shocking to anyone that Flynn would be talking to the Russian ambassador?)

Perhaps there’s more in the redacted portions which we may never learn of. But if not, this was a case of Flynn not being convicted of doing anything wrong, but of either lying or at least misleading investigators when he was asked about it. He was convicted of “downplaying his interactions” with Kislyak. He apparently testified that he’d only spoken to foreign officials to ask them “where they stood” on a particular UN vote, not to attempt to influence them. (If you think we don’t try to leverage our relationships with other nations to get them to vote our way in the UN, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.)

These are questions being asked by people such as Alan Dershowitz.

Related: Crime Follies: Overcriminalization, Independent Prosecutors, and the Rule of Law.