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"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Donald Trump really needs to give the Miranda Warning a good, long think before he tweets again, given that he's currently under investigation for — among other things — possible obstruction of justice. Though it may already be too late, given the latest @RealDonaldTrump utterance on the president's favorite social media platform.
I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017
The tweet amounts to Trump's first comment on Michael Flynn, his former National Security Advisor. Flynn, who was fired just 24 days after Trump's inauguration for — as Trump himself said on Saturday — lying to both Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI, is now cooperating with special investigator Robert Mueller, as we learned on Friday.
While it will likely be some time before we hear Flynn's full story, the deal he struck with Mueller boils down to a single count of lying to the FBI. It's a nothing charge in relative terms; Flynn is on the hook for much more serious crimes according to most accounts, and his guilty plea strongly suggests he's leveraged what he knows to buy his freedom, and perhaps his son's freedom as well.
If you're looking for more context, there's an excellent "quick and dirty" run down of Flynn's plea agreement and what it might mean on the popular Lawfare Blog.
Trump's latest tweet is problematic, then, because he's openly admitted to knowing about Flynn's FBI lie. That hasn't been the case before.
Flynn's guilty plea relates to a Jan. 24, 2017 meeting with the FBI in which he lied about his contacts with Russia. He then resigned from his National Security Advisor post several weeks later, on Feb. 13.
During a subsequent Feb. 16 press conference, Trump fielded a number of questions about Flynn's exit. He said that he'd asked for Flynn's resignation, explaining: "I fired him because of what he said to Mike Pence."
With Saturday's tweet, Trump is admitting for the first time that he knew about Flynn lying to the FBI as well. That's important because Trump later asked former FBI director James Comey — as Comey himself testified — to drop the Flynn investigation.
In short: Trump knew Flynn was on the hook for a crime (lying to the FBI), and he asked the man in charge of the bureau investigating that crime (Comey) to drop it. That would seem to be obstruction of justice, and Trump's tweet admits it.
Unsurprisingly, political Twitter immediately picked up on this and rushed to respond with legal insight, snark, and unrestrained jubilation.
Oh my god, he just admitted to obstruction of justice. If Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he asked Comey to let it go, then there is your case. https://t.co/c6Wtd0TfzW
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 2, 2017
MUELLER: I’ve been working on this story for a whole year and...he just...tweeted it out. pic.twitter.com/cr4q8ncZFe
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) December 2, 2017
Sitting in an airport bar when Trump’s confession comes across a screen. Guy says, He just tweeted it out, gets a laugh. You cannot say that life isn’t weird.
— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) December 2, 2017
So Trump says he knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he asked Comey to let go of the Flynn investigation. Good of him to keep commenting on the obstruction of justice investigation https://t.co/AzK1Ow1QUp
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) December 2, 2017
John Kelly and Ty Cobb, one second after Trump tweeted his confession of obstruction: pic.twitter.com/yLvp3YWjNH
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 2, 2017
Am gobsmacked by Trump’s willingness to brag in public that he is obstructing justice. From his admission that he fired Comey because of “Russia thing” to this. Yet his enablers (especially in Congress) pretend not to hear. https://t.co/vlPVrwnkWM
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) December 2, 2017
We now have a winner for most self destructive tweet in history! A confession to obstruction of justice. Trump urged Comey to let Flynn go knowing Flynn was guilty. https://t.co/P4qGWMffJd
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) December 2, 2017
I’m no lawyer, but a friend of mine who’s an excellent attorney says that @realDonaldTrump just admitted to obstruction of justice - and with millions of Americans as witnesses.
👇👇👇https://t.co/uYFc4ndGcQ— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) December 2, 2017
This is a pretty substantial confession to essential knowledge elements of an obstruction of justice charge. https://t.co/UpQfilPVfJ
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) December 2, 2017
Just to be clear, if Trump had said this privately and some reporter got wind of it, it would a VERY big story. It is no less a big deal for taking place in public on Twitter.
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) December 2, 2017
THIS IS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE. @POTUS now admits he KNEW Michael Flynn lied to the FBI. Yet Trump tried to influence or stop the FBI investigation on #Flynn. https://t.co/8JqGBxgou0
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 2, 2017
Donald Trump's lawyer after he saw Trump's tweet admitting to obstruction of justice. pic.twitter.com/KESA5FdrFO
— Denizcan James (@MrFilmkritik) December 2, 2017