Tag: Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn

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News Round-Up: September 23, 2021

Jonathan Bennett in Hallmark Channel's "The Christmas House"

Some news stories you might have missed: • NewNowNext: The Hallmark Channel has ordered a sequel to their 2020 holiday movie, “The Christmas House,” Hallmark’s first original holiday movie featuring a same-sex couple. Jonathan Bennett and the original cast will return. Continue reading “News Round-Up: September 23, 2021”

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Today’s Trump Twitter Rant: Treasonous FBI & ‘Why Didn’t Anyone Warn Me About Michael Flynn?’

Wrapping up a busy week on Twitter, Donald Trump used his Friday morning rant to again pretend that the FBI "broke the law" by investigating possible collusion between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives.
Donald Trump

Wrapping up a busy week on Twitter, Donald Trump used his Friday morning rant to again pretend that the FBI “broke the law” by investigating possible collusion between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives.

Clearly watching Fox News, he quoted a Fox New poll (ha!): “New Fox Poll: 58% of people say that the FBI broke the law in investigating Donald J. Trump.”

And then, for good measure, tried to pretend that he was never warned about Michael Flynn.

From NBC News in May 2017:

Former President Obama warned President Donald Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser, three former Obama administration officials tell NBC News.

The warning, which has not been previously reported, came less than 48 hours after the November election when the two sat down for a 90-minute conversation in the Oval Office.

A senior Trump administration official acknowledged Monday that Obama raised the issue of Flynn, saying the former president made clear he was “not a fan of Michael Flynn.”

According to all three former officials, Obama warned Trump against hiring Flynn. The Obama administration fired Flynn in 2014 from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, largely because of mismanagement and temperament issues.

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Trump On Flynn Plea Deal: “There’s Been No Collusion So We’re Very Happy”

Even as all of Washington, D.C. was agog at the news of former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleading guilty to lying to the FBI and that he will be “fully cooperating” with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation, the White House has tried to spin these events into “no news.”

This morning, speaking to reporters, Donald Trump made a point of repeating, “What has been shown is no collusion,” he said. “No collusion. There’s been absolutely no collusion so we’re very happy.”

But behind the scenes, Trump is not so confident. According to several sources close to Trump, he has been concerned for some time that “Flynn turned on me.”

From The Daily Beast:

For weeks, Trump has vented privately to advisers and confidants about his anxiety over signs that Flynn had flipped. He noted the possibility that Flynn had “turned on me,” three sources close to the president independently recall him saying. These sources had relayed details of these conversations to The Daily Beast over the course of the past week.

Trump’s fears came into sharp focus this past month, as several media outlets began to report that Flynn appeared to be cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The president—an avid and voracious consumer of Twitter and cable news—began privately fuming, according to an administration official and two outside allies of Trump. Two of the three sources noted that it sounded at times as if Trump felt personally hurt by the prospect that someone whom he admired professionally and liked personally had potentially turned.

Trump later tweeted that Flynn’s “actions during the transition were lawful.”

Because, folks always lie about “lawful” actions, right?

Watch the Donald address reporters below.

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White House: Flynn Only Served 25 Days In Trump Administration, Pled Guilty To Only One Count Of Lying

Donald Trump’s lawyer, Ty Cobb, attempted to downplay today’s guilty plea by Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, as a “single” count of lying to the FBI by someone who only worked in the Trump administration for 25 days.

Cobb goes on to say regarding the false statement to the FBI:

“The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel’s work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.”

This follows the Trump pattern of minimizing former Team Trumpers when they have been charged with crimes.

When former campaign chair Paul Manafort was charged the story was he “was part of the campaign for only a short amount of time.”

When George Papadopoulos was indicted for lying to the FBI, again, the story was “he was only low-level advisor no one knew.”

The statement also makes a point to include that Flynn was once a part of the Obama administration.

Of course, Flynn hasn’t been found guilty of any activities during his time in the Obama administration.

Watch coverage of the White House statement below.

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Former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn Pleads Guilty To Lying To FBI

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has charged former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn with “willfully and knowingly” making “false, fictitious and fraudulent statements” to the FBI regarding conversations with Russia’s ambassador.

According to CNN, a federal judge has accepted Flynn’s plea of guilty to the one charge of perjury charge related to four separate false statements made to the FBI.

Specifically, Flynn is charged with falsely claiming that he had not asked Russia’s ambassador Sergey Kislyak “to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day” last December 29.

As most legal experts are explaining on news outlets right now, the only reason for Mueller to cut a plea deal with Mike Flynn would be in exchange for information regarding higher up actors in the Russian collusion investigation.

ABC News is reporting that Flynn has promised full cooperation to the Mueller team and is prepared to testify that candidate Trump “directed him to make contact with the Russians.”

Flynn was forced to step down as national security adviser after the Trump administration revealed he had reportedly lied to Vice President Mike Pence about conversations with Russian actors.

It’s worth noting that Flynn is the 4th Trump team member to be charged with a crime following Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos.

According to folks on Twitter, it took Flynn 499 days to go from leading “Lock her up” chants at last year’s GOP National Convention regarding Hillary Clinton to copping to committing a felony. Let’s go back to the videotape.

By the way, you know who’s NOT pleading guilty to ANY federal charges today? Hillary Clinton.

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Michael Flynn To Invoke Fifth Amendment, Refuse To Release Documents Related To Trump/Russia Debacle

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will invoke his Fifth Amendment rights and defy a Senate Intelligence Committee subpoena for documents related to the Trump-Russia probe.

From CNN:

President Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn won’t provide records to the Senate Intelligence Committee and will invoke his 5th Amendment rights in response to a subpoena from the committee, according to a source close to Flynn.

Flynn’s refusal to cooperate comes as he faces scrutiny in several inquiries, including on Capitol Hill and a federal grand jury that has issued subpoenas to associates of the ex-national security adviser.

This move will also intensify scrutiny over Trump’s decision to hire him initially for the job and his decision to keep him on staff for 18 days after he was warned by former acting attorney general Sally Yates that Flynn may have been compromised by the Russians.

The Senate Intelligence Committee had asked him to produce all records over his communications with Russian officials by this Wednesday. But Flynn is expected to send a letter later today invoking his 5th Amendment Rights.

The source close to Flynn said it would be “highly imprudent for him not to exercise his 5th Amendment rights” given that several members of Congress have called for his prosecution.

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BREAKING: Trump Asked FBI Director Comey To End Flynn Investigation

Whoa.

From The New York Times:

President Trump asked the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo that Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting.

“I hope you can let this go,” the president told Mr. Comey, according to the memo.

The existence of Mr. Trump’s request is the clearest evidence that the president has tried to directly influence the Justice Department and F.B.I. investigation into links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia.

Mr. Comey wrote the memo detailing his conversation with the president immediately after the meeting, which took place the day after Mr. Flynn resigned, according to two people who read the memo. The memo was part of a paper trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the president’s improper efforts to influence an ongoing investigation. An F.B.I. agent’s contemporaneous notes are widely held up in court as credible evidence of conversations.

Mr. Comey shared the existence of the memo with senior F.B.I. officials and close associates. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey’s associates read parts of the memo to a Times reporter.

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

The White House has denied the allegation.

I find it completely believable that Trump, operating like a CEO, not a president, might pull someone aside and ask a favor for a buddy. It’s more “corner office” than “Oval Office” thinking.

Sen. Angus King says things are inching closer and closer to impeachment.

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NBC News: Obama Warned Trump Against Hiring Michael Flynn

NBC News is reporting that that former President Obama personally warned then-President-elect Donald Trump about hiring Michael Flynn as his national security adviser in their Oval Office meeting on November 10th.

The warning, which has not been previously reported, came less than 48 hours after the November election when the two sat down for a 90-minute conversation in the Oval Office.

The revelation comes on a day that former acting Attorney General Sally Yates is expected to testify that Flynn misled the White House about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.

NBC News has asked the Trump administration for a response.

According to all three former officials, Obama warned Trump against hiring Flynn. The Obama administration fired Flynn in 2014 from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, largely because of mismanagement and temperament issues.

Obama’s warning pre-dated the concerns inside the government about Flynn’s contacts with the Russian ambassador, one of the officials said. Obama passed along a general caution that he believed Flynn was not suitable for such a high level post, the official added.

Two administration officials said Obama also warned Trump to stay vigilant on North Korea.

Trump named Flynn as his national security adviser. Flynn, who was conducting private conversations with the Russian ambassador regarding sanctions, was then fired three weeks into the administration for misleading Vice President Pence about those conversations.

This morning, Trump sent out a tweet trying to deflect his own bad judgement in hiring Flynn, even after being warned.

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House Oversight Committee: No Sign Michael Flynn Complied With The Law

After reviewing Michael Flynn’s application for security clearance, Congressman Chaffetz and ranking Democrat in the House Oversight Committee Rep. Elijah Cummings have determined that now former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn did not properly disclose payments from Russia thereby not complying with the law.

House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz had requested documents related to President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, but the White House now says it either doesn’t have the documents or is “unable to accommodate” the remaining docs.

President Trump promised to “drain the swamp” and yet Flynn was his choice for National Security Adviser. This goes to how sound President Trump’s judgement is on such appointments.

You have to wonder: Why can’t the White House “accommodate” the request?

#swampityswampswamp

More at CNN.