I claim no legal expertise, but doesn't pleading guilty mean you have openly admitted your guilt? Help us out here, legal experts! I need to find ways to tart up my tautologies!
Well, some innocent people (or people who likely can't be proven guilty do plead guilty to lesser charges for a variety of reasons. Perhaps to avoid a heap of other charges and a potentially much longer sentence. (especially if your poor and/or black and expect the criminal justice system to screw you over, and you can't afford a competent lawyer). Or simply to get out of lockup if they can't make bail.
Flynn was trying to change his plea, for what that's worth.
I thought Flynn was trying to avoid having charges brought against his son, and that's why he plead guilty and cooperated. Unless I'm misremembering. I thought the unregistered foreign agent thing was just something they'd have if Flynn didn't cooperate as much as wanted.
In both the Flynn and Bridgegate case, there were some dirty and questionable stuff going on. Whether a law was broken (Bridgegate) or how the people involved should be dealt with is a legal issue/judgment.
I think in the VA Gov case, the court decision actually said that bribery isn't a crime if it's your buddy and you might have taken the same helpful-to-your-friend actions anyway. Or maybe that was the Sen. Menendez case (or both). Menendez is one creep who should be in jail or at minimum out of office.