Tag: Michael Flynn

Trump lawyer says president knew Flynn had given FBI the same account he gave to vice president

The following article by Carol D. Leonnig, John Wagner and Ellen Nakashima was posted on the Washington Post website December 3, 2017:

President Trump’s denials about former national security adviser Michael Flynn are raising new questions about obstruction of justice. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump’s personal lawyer said Sunday that the president knew in late January that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account he provided to Vice President Pence about a call with the Russian ambassador.

Trump lawyer John Dowd said the information was passed to Trump by White House counsel Donald McGahn, who had been warned about Flynn’s statement to the vice president by a senior Justice Department official. The vice president said publicly at the time that Flynn had told him he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian diplomat — a statement disproved by a U.S. intelligence intercept of a phone call between Flynn and then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Continue reading “Trump lawyer says president knew Flynn had given FBI the same account he gave to vice president”

‘I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn’: Trump goes on tweetstorm about the FBI

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website December 3, 2017:

Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

 

President Trump issued a fresh denial Sunday that he asked then-FBI Director James B. Comey to halt an investigation into the conduct of his dismissed national security adviser Michael Flynn.

“I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn,” Trump said in a pre-dawn message on Twitter. “Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!” Continue reading “‘I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn’: Trump goes on tweetstorm about the FBI”

How Flynn’s guilty plea could upend American politics

The following article by James Pindell was posted on the Boston Globe website December 1, 2017:

Following the news related to the Trump-Russia investigations can be difficult. There are multiple investigations into Russia’s meddling with the last presidential election on behalf of the president. There is a big cast of players. It can be hard to discern whether the latest piece of news is a big deal or a small piece of string that might end up going nowhere.

But the news Friday that Trump’s former confidant and national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with the Russian ambassador is an extremely big deal. This development directly puts Trump in legal jeopardy. It could also upend the midterm election and influence redistricting battles that will reshape Congress and statehouses nationwide. Continue reading “How Flynn’s guilty plea could upend American politics”

‘Wait, the tax bill is about to pass the Senate?’ … said everyone following the Michael Flynn news, basically

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website December 1, 2017:

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Dec. 1 said he supports Senate Republicans’ bill that would overhaul the tax code. (Jordan Frasier/The Washington Post)

Now that they have the votes to pass a bill revamping the tax code, Senate Republicans are on the verge of accomplishing something that has eluded them all year: fulfilling a major campaign promise. Politically speaking, it’s a much-needed victory after they failed to repeal Obamacare this summer.

But oh, the irony. Advancing a tax bill has been hugely overshadowed by literally the last thing Republicans want to talk about: a massive development in the investigation into whether their president’s campaign colluded with Russia. On the same day Senate Republicans were set to pass the first reform of the tax code in three decades, President Trump’s former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Continue reading “‘Wait, the tax bill is about to pass the Senate?’ … said everyone following the Michael Flynn news, basically”

Robert Mueller just penetrated the White House gates with Michael Flynn’s guilty plea

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website December 1, 2017:

Paul Manafort? He “played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time” on the Trump campaign. The charges against him? They have “nothing to do with the president.”

George Papadopoulos? Just a low-level “volunteer” for the campaign who wasn’t even worth remembering for both President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

These were credulity-straining defenses offered by the White House in the face of charges against Manafort and Papadopoulos. But they’re not going to work now that former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

In Flynn, we have someone who not only actually served in the White House, but someone for whom Trump clearly maintained a huge affinity even after being forced to fire him. Trump has reportedly rued the day that Flynn forced himself out by misrepresenting his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak — contacts that are at the heart of his guilty plea — and even sought leniency for Flynn from then-FBI Director James B. Comey. While Trump has signaled he might go to war with Manafort, he has handled Flynn with kid gloves from Day One. The polar opposite approaches have been striking. Continue reading “Robert Mueller just penetrated the White House gates with Michael Flynn’s guilty plea”

This is why Flynn’s guilty plea should terrify Trump

The following article by Casey Michel was posted on the ThinkProgress website December 1, 2017:

Michael Flynn has plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials. Credit: AP/Ssusan Walsh

From the earliest days of the Donald Trump administration, one question has hung in the background: Who directed Michael Flynn, Trump’s disgraced former national security adviser, to discuss Russia sanctions with then-Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak during the final days of Barack Obama’s presidency?

We still don’t know the answer. But we might be about to find out.

On Friday, Flynn pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI about the content of his December 29, 2016, phone call with Kislyak. As the Washington Post noted, Flynn’s guilty plea shows that “he is cooperating in the ongoing probe of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.”

ABC News further reports that Flynn appears willing to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team in its ongoing investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Per ABC, Flynn is “prepared to testify that that [then-candidate Trump] ordered him to make contact with the Russians, which contradicts all that Donald Trump has said at this point.” Continue reading “This is why Flynn’s guilty plea should terrify Trump”

Michael Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI on contacts with Russian ambassador

The following article by Carol D. Leonnig, Adam Entous, Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website December 1, 2017:

Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Dec. 1 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and, in an ominous sign for the White House, said he is cooperating in the ongoing probe of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election.

When Flynn was forced out of the White House in February, officials said he had misled the administration, including Vice President Pence, about his contacts with Kislyak. But court records and people familiar with the contacts indicated he was acting in consultation with senior Trump transition officials, including President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in his dealings with the diplomat. Continue reading “Michael Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI on contacts with Russian ambassador”

How Michael Flynn Subverted Our Democracy

The following article by David L. Phillips was posted on the AlterNet website November 21, 2017:

Another chapter in the Trump administration’s foreign collusion.

Then-national security adviser Michael Flynn at the White House in February. Credit:
Carolyn Kaster, AP

When he started investigating General Michael T. Flynn, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concentrated on his income and undisclosed contacts with Russian officials. Now, however, Mueller’s investigation has broadened to include Flynn’s business with Turkey. Flynn faces possible fraud and money-laundering charges for failing to disclose a payment of $530,000 from the Turkish government. (The Foreign Agent Registration Act, FARA, requires disclosure of work for foreign governments, including details about compensation.) Flynn could also face conspiracy and kidnapping charges for allegedly negotiating a payment of $15 million to deliver to Turkey Fethullah Gülen, an Islamic cleric and political foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Gülen has lived in exile in the United States since 1999; he was granted permanent residence in 2008. The Turkish government accuses him of orchestrating the coup attempt in July 2016 and imprisoned thousands of his followers.

If indicted on these charges, Flynn could end up in jail for a long time. (Lawyers for Flynn have denied the kidnapping allegations, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.) Alternatively, Flynn and his son, Michael Flynn Jr., who works with him at the Flynn Intel Group, a lobbying firm in Virginia, can avoid jail time by becoming cooperating witnesses in Mueller’s investigation. Flynn was an integral part of the Trump campaign and briefly served the Trump administration as national security adviser. If the Trump campaign colluded with Russians—for example, to coordinate the release of hacked emails embarrassing to Hillary Clinton and a social media campaign to influence voters—Flynn would probably know. Mueller has already brought charges against Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, his associate Rick Gates, and a campaign foreign policy adviser, George Papadoupoulos. Flynn may be next.  Continue reading “How Michael Flynn Subverted Our Democracy”

Michael Flynn’s role in Mideast nuclear project could compound legal issues

The following article by Michael Kranish, Tom Hamburger and Carol D. Leonnig was posted on the Washington Post website November 27, 2017:

The Washington Post’s Carol D. Leonnig and Michael Kranish explain why House Democrats have questions about a trip Michael Flynn took the Middle East in 2015. (Video: Jenny Starrs, Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

In June 2015, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn took a little-noticed trip to Egypt and Israel, paid for by a U.S. company he was advising. The company hoped to build more than two dozen nuclear plants in the region, in partnership with Russian interests. Continue reading “Michael Flynn’s role in Mideast nuclear project could compound legal issues”

Bharara: Trump should be ‘very worried’ about Flynn if he has ‘done bad things’

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hill website November 26, 2017:

© Getty Images

Former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara said Sunday that President Trump should “be very worried” about his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, potentially cooperating with the special counsel’s investigation if Trump has “done bad things.”

“It depends on what the president has done and what the president’s conversations with Michael Flynn and others have been,” Bharara told CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked if Trump should be concerned. 

“But if you’ve done bad things, then you should be very worried,” he added. Continue reading “Bharara: Trump should be ‘very worried’ about Flynn if he has ‘done bad things’”