Special counsel Robert Mueller is tightening the noose around the Trump administration just as the Christmas season goes into full swing at the White House.
President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the F.B.I. about conversations with the Russian ambassador last December, becoming the first senior White House official to pledge cooperation in the special counsel’s wide-ranging inquiry of election meddling. The deal reflects the strength of Mueller’s hand against the former NSA and therefore the Trump train.
Legal experts weighing in on a sensational Friday story say this is just the beginning and that Mueller will have bigger bombshells in store.
Link: Flynn’s guilty plea in court, December 1, 2017
Two questions arise from this -
If Flynn is the first fall guy, who’s next?
Does this mean Flynn has agreed to testify against Trump?
Flynn's guilty plea today sank the White House crisis communications team into complete chaos/ AP
Bloomberg is reporting that the US President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is possibly the “senior” Trump aide Flynn is referring to.
Slate is reporting that yes, Flynn’s deal with Mueller has Trump in the crosshairs.
James Comey, the FBI chief famously fired by Trump after he refused to bend, tweeted powerful lines from the scriptures soon after the Flynn news broke.
“But justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” Amos 5:24 https://t.co/o89PSY1YBd
— James Comey (@Comey) December 1, 2017
JUST IN: @BrianRoss on @ABC News Special Report: Michael Flynn promised "full cooperation to the Mueller team" and is prepared to testify that as a candidate, Donald Trump "directed him to make contact with the Russians." https://t.co/aiagnvr8eSpic.twitter.com/r8u2LWAd0O
— ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2017
Flynn has admitted that he lied to the FBI about his role in delaying a crucial vote on sanctions the Obama administration had imposed on Russia following evidence of alleged meddling in the 2016 election.
With the headline srceaming “Kushner Is Said to Have Ordered Flynn to Contact Russia”, Bloomberg’s view is that the first person it will jeopardize is the reigning Prince of the White House and husband to Trump’s favourite daughter Ivanka - Jared Kushner.
Robert Mueller describes Flynn’s lie thus: "On or about December 22, 2016, Flynn did not ask the Russian Ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution."
Bloomberg is reporting that this was the result of Kusher’s directive to Flynn - to get everyone on board to delay the vote.
Stunned and reeling, the White House is reacting in a predictable manner - divert, distract, find a nativist agenda to flog. Time and again, that formula has been to rile the Trump voter into a mad fit over immigration. On this shocker of a Friday too, the White House is trying hard to play that card.
Yet, the Flynn story refuses to be put out, its flames licking the walls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on a cold December night.
To get a sense of where the Flynn timeline begins and ends, relevant excerpts from this chronology by Associated Press are timely:
—Dec. 21, 2016: The government of Egypt submits a resolution to the U.N. Security Council on the issue of Israeli settlements. A vote is planned for the next day.
—Dec. 22, 2016: A "very senior member" of the presidential transition team directs Flynn to contact officials with several foreign governments, including Russia, about the resolution. According to court papers, the transition official tells Flynn to see what the governments' positions were on the resolution and to try to get them to delay the vote on the resolution or defeat it. Flynn then calls Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S., and asks him to have Russia vote against or delay the resolution.
—Dec. 23, 2016: Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia would not vote against the resolution if it came to a vote.
—Dec. 28, 2016: President Barack Obama imposes sanctions on Russia in response to the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. According to court papers, Kislyak contacts Flynn.
—Dec. 29, 2016: Flynn calls a "senior official" on the presidential transition. Flynn and the official, who is with Trump and other senior advisers at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, discuss what, if anything, to tell Kislyak about the U.S. sanctions. Flynn also discusses the potential fallout from the sanctions and the view of members of the transition team at Mar-a-Lago that they "did not want Russia to escalate the situation." Immediately after the call, Flynn calls Kislyak and requests that he not escalate the situation. Flynn reports the content of that call back to the transition official.
—Dec. 31, 2016: Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia has decided not to retaliate over the sanctions. Flynn conveys this back to senior members of Trump's transition team.
—Jan. 15, 2017: Vice President Mike Pence says in an interview on "Face the Nation" that Flynn did not discuss U.S. sanctions with Kislyak.
—Jan. 20, 2017: Trump is inaugurated as president. Flynn formally becomes national security adviser.
—Jan. 24, 2017: Flynn is interviewed by FBI agents investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and contacts with Trump associates. According to court papers, Flynn lies to the agents about his contacts with Kislyak regarding the U.S. sanctions and the U.N. Security Council resolution.
—Jan. 26, 2017: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates alerts White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn was potentially compromised and vulnerable to blackmail because of discrepancies between public assertions — including by Pence — that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions and the reality of what occurred.
—Feb. 13, 2017: Trump forces Flynn to resign from his White House post. White House officials justified the firing by saying Flynn had misled them, including Pence, about whether he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak.
Flynn's firing came only after media reports about his contacts with Kislyak.
— Feb. 14, 2017: In an Oval Office meeting, Trump tells Comey he hopes that he can "let go" of an investigation into Flynn. Comey later says he interpreted the statement as a presidential directive. At the time, the FBI had an active investigation into whether Flynn had lied to its agents.
—March 7, 2017: Flynn and his firm, Flynn Intel Group, register with the Justice Department as foreign agents. The registration stems from Flynn's lobbying and investigative research work for a Turkish businessman. Flynn's firm was paid $530,000 for the work that he acknowledged could have benefited the government of Turkey.
—May 9, 2017: Trump fires FBI Director James Comey.
—June 8, 2017: Comey testifies before the Senate intelligence committee about his meetings with Trump and what he interpreted as the president's efforts to pressure him regarding the FBI investigation into Flynn. Comey also tells the committee that he believes Trump fired him to interfere with his investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.
—Dec. 1, 2017: Flynn pleads guilty to a felony charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. He also admits that he lied to the Justice Department about aspects of his Turkish lobbying. He also said he omitted the fact that the lobbying was directed and supervised by Turkish government officials.
Published Date: Dec 02, 2017 05:23 am | Updated Date: Dec 02, 2017 05:33 am
