Tag: Michael T. Flynn

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Shocker: Trump Pardons Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn

Michael Flynn (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
As I’ve predicted practically since time began, Donald Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn. Flynn pleaded guilty (twice!) to charges of lying to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian diplomat. From the New York Times:

It came to light that Mr. Flynn was lying to his colleagues about conversations he had in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak.

In the calls, Mr. Flynn urged Moscow not to escalate in response to sanctions imposed by the departing Obama administration over Russia’s covert election interference to help Mr. Trump, and raised the possibility that the incoming Trump administration would work more closely with Russia.

The pattern of lying raised new suspicions about Mr. Flynn. The F.B.I. sent agents to interview him at the White House even though deliberations with the Justice Department about whether to first tell Mr. Trump’s new White House counsel were not yet resolved.

Notes from a meeting related to that interview suggest a purpose of the interview may have been to see whether Mr. Flynn would lie again to the F.B.I. agents — as he did.

Despite Flynn pleading guilty to the eventual charges, Trump – who fired Flynn in 2017 for lying to Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI about his conversation with Russia’s ambassador – continually said Flynn was “treated terribly” by the Intelligence community. As many have noted, a presidential pardon requires admitting guilt. In doing so, Flynn would lose any 5th Amendment protections regarding being called to testify on the issues. In related news, NBC News reports that prosecutors in New York City are seeking to have the state’s highest court revive mortgage fraud charges against Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. “A four-judge panel in the intermediate court ruled Oct. 22 that the DA’s office failed to demonstrate that the state charges warranted an exception to state double jeopardy protections. That echoed trial court judge Maxwell Wiley’s finding last December that the state charges against Manafort mirrored the federal case that landed him behind bars.” Expect Manafort to receive a pardon in regard to his federal case as well. A new case brought by the Manhattan DA would be exempt from Trump’s pardon powers as state charges can’t be resolved by a presidential pardon.

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Michael Flynn Was Interviewed By FBI Without Trump’s Knowledge

NBC News reports that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn was interviewed by FBI investigators regarding possible Russian interference with the 2016 election a year ago without Donald Trump’s knowledge and without a lawyer.

Via NBC News:

Flynn’s FBI interview on Jan. 24, 2017, set in motion an extraordinary sequence of events unparalleled for the first year of a U.S. presidency. A national security adviser was fired after 24 days on the job, an acting attorney general was fired ten days after the president took office, an FBI director was allegedly pressured by the president to let go an investigation into the ousted national security adviser, and then eventually fired.

NBC News also has learned that former acting attorney general Sally Yates, who informed the White House about Flynn’s interview two days after it took place, has cooperated with the special counsel. CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who was allegedly asked by Trump to lean on Comey to drop his investigation, has also been interviewed, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

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Federal Investigators Have The Evidence Needed To Charge Former Trump Adviser Michael Flynn

Michael T. Flynn

NBC News is reporting today that special counsel Robert Mueller has all the evidence he needs to bring charges against from National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn and his son.

Michael T. Flynn, who was fired after just 24 days on the job, was one of the first Trump associates to come under scrutiny in the federal probe now led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

Mueller is applying renewed pressure on Flynn following his indictment of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, three sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.

The investigators are speaking to multiple witnesses in coming days to gain more information surrounding Flynn’s lobbying work, including whether he laundered money or lied to federal agents about his overseas contacts, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.

Mueller’s team is also examining whether Flynn attempted to orchestrate the removal of a chief rival of Turkish President Recep Erdogan from the U.S. to Turkey in exchange for millions of dollars, two officials said.

Flynn’s son, Michael G. Flynn, who worked closely with his father, accompanied him during the campaign and briefly worked on the presidential transition, could be indicted separately or at the same time as his father, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.

If the elder Flynn is willing to cooperate with investigators in order to help his son, two of the sources said, it could also change his own fate, potentially limiting any legal consequences.

Watch more from NBC News below:

Should this all actually happen, it would pretty much be the definition of irony, no?

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Donald Trump Considering Democrat Army Veteran For VP Spot

Throwing a curve ball into current prognostications on Donald Trump’s possible running mate as GOP White House contender, the Trumpster is reportedly looking at retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn according to several folks involved in the vetting process.

From the Washington Post:

Flynn, 57, a registered Democrat but fierce critic of President Obama, previously ran the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The turn toward a military figure is being driven by Trump himself rather than by his advisers, the people said, and comes as the real estate mogul is telling his friends that national unrest may demand a “tough and steady” presence alongside him on the ticket.

In Flynn, they added, Trump believes he would have a partner whom he trusts, based on their close working relationship over the course of the campaign on policy. And he likes the image of a businessman and a general coming to Washington as outsiders.

As multiple people explained, Trump is eager to rally the party around him but sees the convention and other parts of the campaign as integral to that goal, with the vice-presidential nod potentially more important in terms of what it broadly symbolizes to voters.

“Trump-Flynn. I’ve heard him say that, kind of test out the sound of it,” one person said of how Trump is mulling the possibility. “I think it’s a brand he finds appealing.”

Flynn’s formal vetting by the Trump campaign was first reported by the New York Post. In an interview with the newspaper, Flynn did not deny that he was under consideration.

“All I would say is that I have been honored to serve my country for the past three decades and look forward to serving in other ways now that I am retired from the U.S. Army,” Flynn said. “I’ve been a soldier too long to refuse to entertain any request from a potential commander in chief.”

The question might be, though, would Republicans who are already wary of Trump’s Republican bona fides buy a registered Democrat as running mate?