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Last week, Flynn's attorney Robert Kelner filed a lengthy sentencing memo which laid out his military accomplishments and awards, and also strongly suggested the FBI had been disingenuous in its treatment of Flynn, perhaps an attempt to restore some luster to the reputation of a man who had earned three sparkling stars on his uniform.

In the defense sentencing memo, Flynn's family, friends and former colleagues cast him as selfless in serving his country and saving lives, from his boyhood rescue of two toddlers in the path of a runaway car in Rhode Island to handing his own armored vest to another officer during a suicide vehicle bomb attack in Afghanistan.

Letters described how his efforts to help destroy al-Qaeda in Iraq -- which eventually became ISIS -- saved thousands of lives and revealed how Flynn personally directed the entire NATO-led force in a failed effort to prevent Army Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl's captors \"from trafficking him across the Pakistan border.\"

\"For those who bore witness to these actions, Flynn was the embodiment of selfless service and military values,\" wrote retired Army Col. Yvette Hopkins in the letter included in Flynn's sentencing memo.

Flynn later told British documentary filmmaker Sean Langan that Bergdahl, who was court-martialed and pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy last year, was worthy of mercy.

\"So the guy deserted his men, his soldiers, his squad -- no doubt,\" Flynn said in 2016. \"[But] I don't think he should serve another day in any sort of confinement or jail or anything like that, because frankly, even though he put himself into this situation to a degree, we -- the United States government and the United States military — put him in Afghanistan.\"

Retired Army Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc, who commanded special operations in Afghanistan and Africa, told ABC News that Flynn is also worthy of such mercy, having endured the crucible of a long investigation that \"has had negative consequences on an inherently good man and family.\"

\"PHOTO:
Andrew Harnik/AP
PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump, left, accompanied by Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, right, and Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, a senior adviser to Trump, center, speaks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 21, 2016.
>

\"Despite the political issues and the legal issues he is experiencing, Lt. Gen. Flynn in my assessment is a good man,\" Bolduc said. \"He knows more than anyone about personal accountability. I am sure no one understands more the consequences of being untruthful during an investigation than Lt. Gen. Flynn. As we all do, I am sure he has reflected on any mistakes he made and is moving forward to make amends and learn.\"

Those closest to Flynn told ABC News that he is eager to be rid of that spotlight from political critics, news media and criminal investigators.

In the last year, he has not granted any interviews, instead seeking the privacy of the the Rhode Island community he grew up in, passing his days surfing and spending time with his large family.

He has not been entirely absent from the political scene, however. He spoke at one fringe Republican's early campaign event earlier this year and made a rare speech to accept an award at a conservative political conference in September.

ABC News' Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.

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