Just what is a proffer and what are the perils of entering into a proffer agreement (also known as a proffer letter) with the federal government? Proffer or "queen for a day" letters are written agreements between federal prosecutors and individuals under criminal investigation which permit these individuals to tell the government about their knowledge of crimes, with the supposed assurance that their words will not be used against them in any later proceedings. (The individuals can either be witnesses, subjects or targets of a federal investigation, although it is subjects and targets who provide most proffers.)
If you enter into one of these agreements, you will proffer information orally in a proffer or queen for a day "session" attended by you, your attorney, the Assistant U.S. Attorney ("AUSA") and one or more federal agents... You should think of a proffer session as a sneak preview in which you show the federal authorities what you can bring to the table if they cut a deal with you.
...Your attorney and the prosecutor should have already informally worked out, before you ever sit down for the proffer session, a basic understanding of: 1) what you are likely to proffer; and, 2) what the contemplated post-proffer immunity or plea agreement will look like. To the extent that either part of this informal understanding is not perfectly clear to you, your attorney, and the federal prosecutor, you are heading into exceedingly dangerous territory. Why? Because, proffering will almost always harm you if post-proffer immunity/plea discussions fall apart and the government decides to indict you. For the same reason, if the prosecutor is not trustworthy or if you are not prepared to tell the complete truth, the proffer session should never take place. Solomon L. Wisenberg
I’d love to learn what General Flynn is proffering the FBI right now!
The unstable General Flynn is under lots of pressure. The New York Times and the Washington Post just outed Ezra Cohen, the mole Flynn placed in the National Security Council apparently to clandestinely monitor and undermine the FBI investigation of the Trump inner circle. If I were Comey, I would first indict Cohen for illegal disclosure and get him to roll on Flynn, White House counsel Donald McGahn, and White House lawyers Michael Ellis and John Eisenberg. Pressure Flynn with the underlings’ evidence before considering his proffer.
I wouldn’t rule out a plea agreement with Flynn. He is a weak link and could be a key witness. However, Trump’s perfidy predates Flynn’s involvement by decades.
I’ll be disappointed if the oligarchs limit the investigation and disclosures to Trump’s 2016 campaign. The criminal activity appears to be much wider (and deeper).