Trump wishes former national security adviser Michael Flynn 'good luck' ahead of sentencing

Donald Trump has wished his former national security adviser Michael Flynn "good luck" in court as he awaits sentencing for lying to the FBI.

Earlier, it emerged that Flynn lied about his contact with a former Russian ambassador to the US in an FBI interview described in a memo released by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

In a tweet hours before the sentencing in federal court in Washington, Mr Trump said it "will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign."

The US president, who often refers to the Russian investigation as a "witch hunt" and "hoax", added: "There was no Collusion!"

The run-up to Flynn's sentencing on Tuesday has exposed raw tensions over an FBI interview in which he lied about his Russian contacts.

Flynn's lawyers said investigators discouraged him from having a lawyer present during the interview in January 2017 and that they never told him it was a crime to lie.

However prosecutors hit back, saying Flynn did not need to be warned that it was a crime to lie to officers and "to know the importance of telling them the truth".

Prosecutors filed the redacted copy of the interview notes following a dispute between lawyers and a judge's intervention.

The notes show he told FBI agents things he later said were false.

The documents revealed Flynn was asked about his contacts with Russia and his previous trips to the country and conversations he had with the then-Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak.

He later pleaded guilty to lying about what was said during those conversations.

According to Mr Mueller's memo, Flynn told investigators that he did not discuss US sanctions on Moscow with the Russian diplomat.

However, he admitted that he did last year.

Mr Flynn will likely walk out of the courtroom a free man due to his extensive co-operation with federal prosecutors, which have led to dozens of criminal charges and four guilty pleas from Trump associates.

The 60-year-old special counsel became national security adviser to Mr Trump after helping him win the 2016 presidential election - and began co-operating with the inquiry led by Mr Mueller after quitting the White House last year.

He participated in 19 interviews with prosecutors after agreeing to aid the investigation, which has repeatedly been attacked by the president .