(Bloomberg) -- Michael Flynn, briefly President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, is still cooperating with investigations by the government and deserves to be treated when leniency when it comes time for his sentencing after pleading guilty to lying to federal agents about his contacts with a Russian official.

His lawyers wrote to the judge overseeing his case Thursday, saying the government’s decision not to call him as a witness in the trial of his former business partner Bijan Kian “does not diminish what Mr. Flynn has done to date.”

Flynn was charged as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Kian is charged with lobbying in the U.S. illegally for Turkey in 2016 and 2017. his trial begins next week in Virginia.

Flynn’s No-Prison Deal in Doubt as U.S. Reveals Second Thoughts

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Harris in federal court in Washington at aharris16@bloomberg.net;David Kocieniewski in New York at dkocieniewsk@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Heather Smith at hsmith26@bloomberg.net

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