During a contentious sentencing hearing on Tuesday, in which the Judge gave Flynn an opportunity to withdraw his plea and then slammed him for his crime, Flynn asked for a delay in sentencing.

The judge granted the delay in order to see the full level of cooperation Flynn has provided to the government.

According to The Hill:

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Tuesday requested to postpone his sentencing for lying to FBI agents about his contacts with the Russian ambassador until his cooperation with federal prosecutors is fully complete. 

The surprise decision by Flynn’s defense attorneys came after U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan admonished Flynn, a retired three-star Army general,  for committing a “serious offense” by lying to the FBI about his discussions with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak about sanctions on Moscow while serving in a high-level role at the White House.

“This is a very serious offense,” Sullivan in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. “A high ranking senior official of the government making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation while on the physical premises of the of the White House.”

Sullivan also asked Flynn and his counsel whether they would want to delay the sentencing, seemingly hinting that Flynn would face a tough sentence if the decision had gone through on Tuesday.

The judge said Flynn sold his country out and he would likely hand down a serious punishment, but now that will be delayed until March to give him time to cooperate against his former business associates who were charged this week.