Flynn pleads guilty on Russia; reportedly ready to testify on Trump

By Sarah N. Lynch

 

Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn departs U.S. District Court, where he was expected to plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States, in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors delving deeper into the actions of President Donald Trump's inner circle before he took office in January.

 

Flynn became the first member of Trump's administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by the wide-ranging special counsel investigation into Russia's alleged attempts to influence the election and potential collusion by Trump aides.

 

Flynn, a former senior member of Trump's campaign team, admitted in courtroom in downtown Washington that he gave false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in January about his contacts the previous month with Russia's then-ambassador, Sergei Kislyak.

 

ABC News said Flynn, facing up to five years in jail, was prepared to testify that before taking office Trump had directed him to make contact with Russians.

 

Reuters could not immediately verify the ABC News report on Flynn testifying, which could put the Republican president in an uncomfortable spot after he has denied any collusion between himself or his campaign team with Moscow.

 

U.S. stocks, the dollar and Treasury yields fell sharply after the ABC report, although they partially rebounded after U.S. Senate Republicans said they had enough support to pass a tax overhaul bill later in the day.

 

Flynn's decision to take a plea deal and cooperate with the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller marked a major escalation in a probe that has dogged Trump's administration since the Republican president took office.

 

The White House said Flynn's guilty plea implicated him alone.

 

"Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn," Ty Cobb, a White House attorney, said in a statement.

 

Flynn was forced out of his White House post in February for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the Russian ambassador last December, after Trump's November election win and before the Jan. 20 inauguration.

 

FLYNN AND TRUMP

 

ABC News cited a confidant as saying Flynn was ready to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians before he became president, initially as a way to work together to fight the Islamic State group in Syria.

 

If Trump directed Flynn to contact Russian officials, that might not necessarily amount to a crime. It would be a crime if it were proven that Trump directed Flynn to lie to the FBI about his contacts to the FBI.

 

Legal experts disagree over whether a sitting president can be indicted. Many say the only clear punishment for a president who has committed criminal acts is impeachment by Congress. The Constitution provides that impeachment, which requires a simple majority in the House and a two-thirds vote in the Senate, is warranted for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which Congress is free to define as it sees fit.

 

Moscow has denied what U.S. intelligence agencies say was meddling in the election campaign to try to sway the vote in Trump's favour. Trump has called Mueller's probe a witch hunt.

 

In May, the president fired FBI Director James Comey, who later accused Trump of trying to hinder the agency's investigations into the Russia allegations. Comey also said he believed Trump had asked him to drop the FBI's probe into Flynn.

 

Comey on Friday tweeted a cryptic message about justice, but did not specifically mention the Flynn plea.

 

"But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, 'Amos 5:24’," he wrote, quoting the Biblical book of Amos.

 

AMBASSADOR CONTACTS

 

Prosecutors said that Flynn and Kislyak last December discussed economic sanctions that Washington had imposed on Moscow, and an upcoming vote in the U.N. Security Council regarded as damaging to Israel.

 

Flynn admitted later falsely telling FBI officials that he did not ask the ambassador to refrain from escalating a diplomatic dispute over the sanctions.

 

President Barack Obama's administration, which was still in office at the time, had imposed the sanctions for allegedly interfering in the election.

 

Flynn consulted with a senior member of Trump's presidential transition team about “what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the U.S. sanctions,” prosecutors said in a court document.

 

Flynn called a senior official of Trump’s transition team who was with other members of the team at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the prosecutors said,

 

"Flynn called the Russian ambassador and requested that Russia not escalate the situation and only respond to the U.S. sanctions in a reciprocal manner,” the document said. It did not name the senior official in the Trump team.

 

On Dec. 28, 2016, the day before prosecutors say the call between the Trump aides took place, Trump publicly played down the need to sanction Russia for allegedly hacking U.S. Democratic operatives.

 

"I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly," Trump told

reporters at Mar-a-Lago.

 

Flynn also admitted to lying about asking the envoy to help delay a vote in the U. N. Security Council that was seen as damaging to Israel.

 

The document said a very senior official in the Trump team told Flynn to contact foreign governments, including Russia, to try to influence their vote.

 

An official who worked with Trump's transition team confirmed media reports that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was the official involved.

Kushner's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the issue.

 

Flynn pleaded guilty in a packed federal courtroom in Washington. “Guilty, your honor,” he said, when asked by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras how he planned to plea.

 

Flynn was known for vitriolic campaign appearances in 2016, notably leading Trump supporters' chants of "Lock Her Up," in reference to Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, and accusations she misused email while she was secretary of state.

 

He is the second former senior aide to Trump to be charged in the Mueller probe.

 

Paul Manafort, who ran Trump's presidential campaign for several months last year, was charged in October with conspiring to launder money, conspiracy against the United States and failing to register as a foreign agent of Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government.

 

Manafort, who did not join Trump's administration, and a business associate who was charged with him, pleaded not guilty.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-02

Hey Flynn.... how about chanting "LOCK ME UP... lock me up."  Oh and your buddy 45 can get a room at "the inn" too - probably with padded walls. 

Edited December 1, 20178 yr by selftaopath
type o

Given the (relatively) minor charges that Flynn has pled guilty to, it is virtually certain that he has 'flipped' and is prepared to testify against others. And who might the others be? Traditionally, a person will 'flip' to testify against someone higher up, and the only people higher up are either Trump himself or his family.

 

I do believe that this is the beginning of the end. Fynn was there from early on, through the campaign, through the period before taking office, and during the initial stages of the administration. Further, he was widely known to be very close to Trump and his family. Finally, he was there for almost every detail and every conversation; some might think that Trump did everything legally, I seriously doubt that.

 

The end of the long, global nightmare is coming... Finally.

 

The start of "The End of the Trump Era" Really good to get rid of that lunatic.

Before the anti-Trump brigade start getting too excited, yeees Trump fired Flynn for lying. We knew this months ago. Nothing to see here. We are not any more on the cusp of being on the cusp than we were were last year. This obsession with Russia got tiresome long ago. Time the msm started focusing on the real stories like record highs on the markets, unemployments down, and a judicial system mired in the swamp.

32 minutes ago, selftaopath said:

Hey Flynn.... how about chanting "LOCK ME UP... lock me up."  Oh and your buddy 45 can get a room at "the inn" too - probably with padded walls. 

More like leading the chant "RAT THEM OUT"!

19 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Before the anti-Trump brigade start getting too excited, yeees Trump fired Flynn for lying. We knew this months ago. Nothing to see here. We are not any more on the cusp of being on the cusp than we were were last year. This obsession with Russia got tiresome long ago. Time the msm started focusing on the real stories like record highs on the markets, unemployments down, and a judicial system mired in the swamp.

Not only did Trump fire Flynn, but he also condemned him in no uncertain terms. I believe his message to Flynn was "Stay strong." Clearly Trump was enraged by Flynn's actions. To date, Trump has shown his usual patience and self-control by not saying one word against Flynn.

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by ilostmypassword

sing sing or Sing Sing

1 hour ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Before the anti-Trump brigade start getting too excited, yeees Trump fired Flynn for lying. We knew this months ago. Nothing to see here. We are not any more on the cusp of being on the cusp than we were were last year. This obsession with Russia got tiresome long ago. Time the msm started focusing on the real stories like record highs on the markets, unemployments down, and a judicial system mired in the swamp.

Jeez, have you any sense of reality at all?

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by FritsSikkink

Another giant nothing burger. 

If this is all Muller has... pathetic. 

 

One lousy count of lying to the Feebs?  555 

1 minute ago, Boon Mee said:

Another giant nothing burger. 

If this is all Muller has... pathetic. 

 

One lousy count of lying to the Feebs?  555 

Wow. Talk about obtuseness. If this were about Flynn, you might have a point. But if it were about Flynn, then there was a lot more charges that could have been brought against him.  Does the phrase "plea-bargaining" mean anything to you?

What likely led Michael Flynn to flip sides in the Russia investigation

It's very likely that President Trump's former national security adviser and close confidante is now a confidante of an investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russians to meddle in the election.

There's one reason — one criminal charge, actually — that lets us safely assume Michael Flynn switched sides: He pleaded guilty to one charge of lying to the FBI, when there's so much more the special counsel could have potentially nabbed him for.

"[It] suggests a bombshell of a deal with prosecutors,” said Jens Ohlin, vice dean of law at Cornell, in an email.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/12/01/why-we-can-say-with-near-certainty-that-michael-flynn-has-flipped-sides-in-the-russia-investigation/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-high_flynn-flip-fix-430pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.715d087bea47

One can only guess, but I would speculate that there was more than one lie.   Flynn is apparently smart enough to stop digging once he realized just how deep the hole was getting.   

2 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Given the (relatively) minor charges that Flynn has pled guilty to, it is virtually certain that he has 'flipped' and is prepared to testify against others. And who might the others be? Traditionally, a person will 'flip' to testify against someone higher up, and the only people higher up are either Trump himself or his family.

 

I do believe that this is the beginning of the end. Fynn was there from early on, through the campaign, through the period before taking office, and during the initial stages of the administration. Further, he was widely known to be very close to Trump and his family. Finally, he was there for almost every detail and every conversation; some might think that Trump did everything legally, I seriously doubt that.

 

The end of the long, global nightmare is coming... Finally.

 

your reasoning seems solid enough;

forget not tho, that credible estimates place the duration of the impeachment process, best case, at 15 months;

given his ego, i doubt that Trump would voluntarily step down

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Another giant nothing burger. 

If this is all Muller has... pathetic. 

 

One lousy count of lying to the Feebs?  555 

One lousy count that will result in a goldmine of actionable evidence and testimony from one of the major actors in this incredible selling of America to a foreign power saga

Scaramucci and the NY Post in June of 2017:

 

Anthony Scaramucci (‪@Scaramucci‬)

27/6/17, 04:34

FBI clears Flynn in probe linking him to Russia | New York Post A Patriot cleared. Hopefully nonsense will end.  nypost.com/2017/01/24/fbi…

Troll post reported and removed.  

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Another giant nothing burger. 

If this is all Muller has... pathetic. 

 

One lousy count of lying to the Feebs?  555 

A big fat juicy nutritious mouth-watering nothing burger.

29 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

One lousy count that will result in a goldmine of actionable evidence and testimony from one of the major actors in this incredible selling of America to a foreign power saga

From what I heard on MSNBC/Rachel Maddow just now there are numerous other chargeable things Flynn can be held accountable for but have not been acted on by Mr. Mueller. :-) They are there and just waiting .... guess it's more incentive to talk. 

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Another giant nothing burger. 

If this is all Muller has... pathetic. 

 

One lousy count of lying to the Feebs?  555 

I was going to say I'm shocked at your post. But given your posting history, it's on par. You are so out of tough with really. You seriously need better news sources. Please.

 

Saying it's a big nothing burger is...well...bizarre.

 

This is huge. Those up the ladder are going down. And those who called this a witch hunt now look like fools. What's amazing is many don't even know it. Sad times.

3 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Before the anti-Trump brigade start getting too excited, yeees Trump fired Flynn for lying. We knew this months ago. Nothing to see here. We are not any more on the cusp of being on the cusp than we were were last year. This obsession with Russia got tiresome long ago. Time the msm started focusing on the real stories like record highs on the markets, unemployments down, and a judicial system mired in the swamp.

Stop parroting fox news. That sounded verbatim. Next up: What about ___?

 

Flynn reportedly called McFarland to give an update to the Trump team (she was his junior so she would have then been passing that to the higher ups) about his call the day that sanctions were applied on Russia. And there were multiple calls on that same day. If he was doing that on the behalf of the Trump team, and they have all repeatedly lied and denied it... it's another nail in the coffin. 

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by jcsmith

A must read for those saying this is a big nothing burger. Educational.

 

Michael Flynn’s guilty plea: A comprehensive timeline

http://wapo.st/2AnAooG

Trump is most likely writing two new executive orders, the first is a Lese Trumpe law, the second is Article 45, a little stronger than Thailand's Article 44.  Both are to go in force immediately.

 

He is also promoting Ivanka to Secretary of State, Kushner to Secretary of Defense and is negotiating a deal with Disneyland to put Donald Junior in the Orlando Fantasy land as the star attraction!

4 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Before the anti-Trump brigade start getting too excited, yeees Trump fired Flynn for lying. We knew this months ago. Nothing to see here. We are not any more on the cusp of being on the cusp than we were were last year. This obsession with Russia got tiresome long ago. Time the msm started focusing on the real stories like record highs on the markets, unemployments down, and a judicial system mired in the swamp.

 

I have a business in the US, that is primarily online. In the past, when the stock market was at an all time high, and the real estate values were very high, consumer confidence was very high, and people were spending money. Not the case now. Consumer confidence is way, way down. Too much uncertainty brought on by the circus clown, and the money does not seem to be trickling down. Sure, those that own alot of stock are doing well. But, the average middle class person in the US is really struggling. And God forbid you should be a member of the lower class, which now amounts to 29% of American households, and is growing daily. The middle class is shrinking, while the upper class is expanding, as is the lower class. So, America is increasingly becoming an economically polarized nation. 

 

Now, the real question. Why is the stock market doing so well? In my opinion, it has alot of to do with companies cutting their expenses. At the expense of their employees. Benefits, compensation, pensions, health insurance, etc. Also, the customer service has nearly disappeared in the US. That is additional corporate savings. Lastly, the tax loopholes for US corporation are substantial, and they will only get larger with the new tax cuts, which will benefit mostly the wealthy, and the corporations, at the expense of the middle and lower classes. Way to go Don. Pass on the wealth. Make your people poorer. Nice job. 

 

On to the topic at hand, Flynn is filthy. And he is only the tip of the iceberg, within the swamp administration. 

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by spidermike007

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

I was going to say I'm shocked at your post. But given your posting history, it's on par. You are so out of tough with really. You seriously need better news sources. Please.

 

Saying it's a big nothing burger is...well...bizarre.

 

This is huge. Those up the ladder are going down. And those who called this a witch hunt now look like fools. What's amazing is many don't even know it. Sad times.

 

Not a Nothing Burger but if this:

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-flynn-trump-russia-abc-news-mueller-2017-12

 

is the full extent of what he may testify to, I'm not sure there's a Whopper here either.

 According to this article "Flynn became the first member of Trump's administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by the wide-ranging special counsel investigation into Russia's alleged attempts to influence the election and potential collusion by Trump aides".

 

 But Trump's Lawyer said on Michael Flynn: 'Nothing About the Guilty Plea or the Charge Implicates Anyone' Else but Mr. Flynn.

http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/news/national/white-house-lawyer-ty-cobb-flynn-guilty-plea-implicates-trump-white-house-article-1.3670409

 

To suggest that President Trump or anyone in the WH is guilty of collusion to influence the election is simply not true.

Step by step- inch by inch -each indictment of  Trump's henchmen brings it closer to the Moron In Chief. Flynn bargained for a lesser charge but he gave up plenty to save his skin and his son's skin.  nothing can save Trump now- not even if he fires Mueller which will push the country into a constitutional crisa ala Watergate.

Trump is guilty of hell of at least obstruction of justice and possibly even collaboration with a foreign entity to sabotage the US election. As more and more evidence comes forward- it will be leaked to the press and the country will start to pressure their representatives in Congress. Once they smell blood- they will turn on Trump like cornered rats and vote for Impeachment. Once Trump knows he is finished he will pardon everyone involved-including himself and resign.

Until that happens, America is saddled by a narcissistic meglomaniac who is doing nothing positive for America And its people. Like one of the posters stated- the middle class is being pushed into the lower middle class and the poor expanding.  The wealthy are become more wealthy and the current tax bill a disgrace allowing the already wealthy to obtain more money off the backs of the middle class and poor.

Donald Trump has not done one thing positive to help the American people or even proposed anything that will remotely bring America back to greatness. 

Even if the year do try to bring charges at some stage against Trump, he will get off with an insanity plea - nobody could deny that, could they?

22 minutes ago, riclag said:

 According to this article "Flynn became the first member of Trump's administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by the wide-ranging special counsel investigation into Russia's alleged attempts to influence the election and potential collusion by Trump aides".

 

 But Trump's Lawyer said on Michael Flynn: 'Nothing About the Guilty Plea or the Charge Implicates Anyone' Else but Mr. Flynn.

http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/news/national/white-house-lawyer-ty-cobb-flynn-guilty-plea-implicates-trump-white-house-article-1.3670409

 

To suggest that President Trump or anyone in the WH is guilty of collusion to influence the election is simply not true.

But anyone who knows anything about Trump, his nature, or his background will suggest otherwise. Personally, I believe there is no depth this creton will stoop to, to advance his personal agenda, gain more wealth, or more power. Nothing he will not do. So, it does not take much imagination to consider that he was probably personally involved in this act, by participating with a near enemy, to influence the election. In some countries, this would be considered an act of treason, punishable by death.

4 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Another giant nothing burger. 

If this is all Muller has... pathetic. 

 

One lousy count of lying to the Feebs?  555 

Yes, only 1 lousy count because he is selling out the Trump

40 minutes ago, riclag said:

 According to this article "Flynn became the first member of Trump's administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by the wide-ranging special counsel investigation into Russia's alleged attempts to influence the election and potential collusion by Trump aides".

 

 But Trump's Lawyer said on Michael Flynn: 'Nothing About the Guilty Plea or the Charge Implicates Anyone' Else but Mr. Flynn.

http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/news/national/white-house-lawyer-ty-cobb-flynn-guilty-plea-implicates-trump-white-house-article-1.3670409

 

To suggest that President Trump or anyone in the WH is guilty of collusion to influence the election is simply not true.

Trumps lawyer? Hardly a credible source. Plus, 2 others have already admitted guilt.

 

As for the election, that remains to be seen. For now, a whole bunch of Trump's inner circle are going down.

 

Amazing some deflect from this and say...but, but, BUT....GUILTY! The head of national security colluding with a hostile foreign government AND lying about it. To us.

 

Lock them up. Lock them up. Lock them up.