Michael Flynn teasing he's gonna be let off the hook. |
— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) April 29, 2020
Flynn Declaration@sidneypowell1— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) April 25, 2020
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Donald J. Trump is preparing to pardon or commute former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The former Lt. Army General who served briefly under Barack Obama and later Trump plead guilty to lying to the FBI over his involvement with Sergey Kislyak, a Russian senator who was then the Russian ambassador to the United States. Flynn admitted that he communicated to Kislyak about the Trump transition and pushed for patience while Obama was issuing sanctions against the Russian Federation for meddling in the 2016 U.S. Elections. He also failed to acknowledge his role as a foreign agent. He had assisted in lobbying for the Turkish government, Ukraine and Serbia.
Flynn, a former Fox News pundit was hired to be Trump's top spy chief. Then Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told the Obama Administration that the Russian government has information on Flynn that could put the U.S. at risk of losing classified information. Obama personally told Trump to be careful about Flynn.
Trump ignored him and had him as the NSA chief for a mere 24 days. Flynn admitted to Mike Pence that he lied about his conversations with Kislyak. He submitted his resignation and lawyered up.
His second-in-command, K.T. McFarland was ousted as well. Around that time, Trump fired Yates and started pressuring for anyone with ties to Obama to be ousted.
Before former FBI director James Comey was fired out the cannon, Trump told him to ease off of Flynn.
"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go to letting Flynn go" and added "[Flynn's] a good guy." Comey under oath said that Trump tried to pressure the FBI to drop the investigation.
Comey kept a memo of the conversation and turned over to the FBI and it launched the Mueller Report which was led by his mentor former FBI director Robert Mueller.
Trump also fumed at then Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions had to recuse himself from the investigation after he admitted to then Minnesota senator Al Franken he also had engaged with Russian operatives.
Flynn offered to testify to the FBI or the House and Senate Intelligence Committees relating to the Russian probe in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution. The Senate rejected the move for immunity. Flynn ignored a subpoena from the Senate and involved his Fifth Amendment right to self-incrimination. The Pentagon inspector general is also investigating whether Flynn accepted money from foreign governments without the required approval.
Trump is considering pardoning Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and Paul Manafort. Michael Cohen has fallen out of favor with Trump so for now, Cohen will be serving his term. |
The FBI warned Fethullah Gulen that a plot to kidnap him and extradite him back to Turkey was foiled. The Turkish businessman who was close to Flynn, Reza Zarrab was arrested in Miami. He said that he indicted on violating Iranian sanctions and money laundering. He offered to testify against Flynn.
Flynn agreed to agreed to plea guilty to "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the FBI.
He was going to face sentencing but withdrew his plea of guilty. He changed his mind and decided that he was "tricked" into confessing. He serving was postponed indefinitely.
Trump ordered Attorney General Bill Barr to appoint Jeffrey Jensen to examine the prosecution.
Now Jensen is investigating whether the FBI did wrong-doing while investigating Flynn.
"Look at what they did to the guy. I mean, he couldn't have known too much [about] what was happening," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "They came at him with 15 buses, and he's standing in the middle of a highway. What they did to this man, they tormented him. They destroyed him. But he's going to come back. Like I say, he's going to come back bigger and better."
Trump argued his former aide was victimized by "dirty, filthy cops at the top of the FBI," and lamented how Flynn, his longtime informal political adviser Roger Stone and other associates became ensnared by the far-reaching Russia probe that consumed the early years of his administration. "It should never be allowed to happen in this country again," he said.
The president's fiery remarks represented Trump’s latest reaction to a cache of FBI records unsealed late Wednesday by a federal judge. The documents disclosed new details about the origins of the bureau's criminal case against Flynn and suggested internal deliberation over how to approach the politically explosive investigation.
Trump has dangled pardoning Flynn. He felt that Flynn got a "bum rap."
Trump said that he win reelection he could bring Flynn back to the White House.