CNN justice expert confounded by Michael Flynn's claim that he didn't know it was illegal to lie to FBI agents

On Wednesday, as General Michael Flynn awaited his sentencing, his lawyers asked for leniency, citing his long military service.

But there was another eye-grabbing part of his defense. Flynn claimed that when two FBI agents approached him about his meeting with a Russian diplomat, they failed to remind him that it's a crime to lie to the FBI.

On The Lead with Jake Tapper Wednesday, CNN's Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez wondered why they would include that part, which makes Flynn sound shockingly ignorant for a long-serving military official.

"Why is that in this court filing where all they had to say was we agree with Robert Mueller he should get no prison time, here are these letters of recommendation.... that the lawyer included this passage that describes

Michael Flynn used to be the national security advisor... he's not someone who needs to be reminded that lying to the FBI is a crime so it's a very strange thing to include in this document asking for no jail time."

"He turned over electronics and all kinds of documents," Perez continued. He observed that whatever Flynn gave Mueller was likely of great help to investigators. "What exactly it is, we don't know yet."

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