Flynn pled guilty in December 2017 to lying to FBI officials during an interview the previous January, during which he said he misrepresented his statements to Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, his previous interactions with Russian government figures, and his contacts with Turkish government figures.

In a sentencing memo released on Tuesday, Mueller touted Flynn’s 33-year military career, his time at the helm of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and his extensive government cooperation as mitigating factors in the case. Flynn participated in 19 interviews with Mueller’s office and other Department of Justice personnel and provided “documents and communications,” the details of which are heavily redacted. He is due to be sentenced on December 18.

Mueller repeatedly praises the “timeliness” of his assistance – Flynn was the first senior official to formally cooperate with the probe, and the special counsel believes his choice to plead guilty “likely affected the decisions of related firsthand witnesses” to come forward as well.

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