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Former Trump National Security Adviser Mike Flynn is “eager” to set a sentencing date to resolve the criminal charge brought by the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election, his defense lawyer told a judge Tuesday.

Flynn and his lawyer, Robert Kelner, a Covington & Burling election-law partner in Washington, appeared before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan on Tuesday.

Sullivan said he wanted to see Flynn as his criminal case moved forward to the pre-sentencing phase. Flynn, who pleaded guilty in December to making false statements to federal investigators, has cooperated with Special Counsel Robert Mueller III. A different judge, Rudolph Contreras, was assigned to the case at the time of Flynn's plea hearing last year.

Sullivan scheduled Tuesday's hearing on his own after Flynn's lawyers and government prosecutor Brandon Van Grack requested the judge move to a pre sentencing report. The attorneys did not, however, ask for a sentencing date.

The move to pre-sentencing could tax limited resources, Sullivan said in court, creating more work for the probation officers who prepare pre-sentencing reports. Kelner said Flynn was “eager” to move towards sentencing date, but the government had indicated it was not ready for a date yet.

Sullivan acknowledged Flynn's desire to move to sentencing rapidly. At the end of the hearing, he suggested considering on August 24—their final status report deadline—a sentencing date 60 days out, not 90. Both Van Grack and Kelner said they welcomed the idea.

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