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RRussian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak tried to convince national security adviser Michael Flynn to hold a video teleconference between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after the inauguration. of Trump, according to new records.
A barely cleared summary of the FBI interview transcript, or a 302, released Thursday by the district court, revealed that Flynn had explained to Peter Strzok, deputy director of the FBI at the time, the details of his relations with the Russians. Beyond Kislyak's desire to have a video chat with Trump-Putin, the FBI notes also describe a meeting between Kislyak and Flynn's and Trump's step-son, Jared Kushner, at Trump Tower in November 2016 .
When the transcript of the FBI interview was originally released in December 2018, it was heavily redacted, but the version released today has hardly been written.
Flynn stated that he attended the meeting in camera but did not prepare it himself. Flynn also "explained that other meetings between the Trump team and various foreign countries had taken place before the inauguration" and that these meetings "were delicate to the extent that many countries did not want the current situation." [Obama] the administration to know about them. "
Strzok and another FBI agent interviewed Flynn on January 24, 2017 at the White House, and the false information he gave about the conversations he had had with the ambassador of the 39 at the time of the interview culminated in his guilty plea for lying to the investigators during his tenure The probe of Robert Mueller.
Flynn reportedly told the FBI that he had not spoken to Kislyak about sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration in response to Russia's interference in the 2016 elections, but his plea agreement in the context of the Mueller investigation included the confession that he had discussed well with the Russian ambassador. .
In his interview with FBI agents, Flynn said that he was turning to Russia because he wanted to make it a "joint partner" in the fight against terrorism. The 302 said that Flynn "designated the main threats to the United States as being the" four plus one ": China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and ISIS." And Flynn said that "if the United States could neutralize any of the four, or better still, leveraging their cooperation to fight a common enemy such as terrorism, would be a success for the national security of the United States. United. "
The almost unredacted version of the 302 also tells that "Flynn has described [now-deceased former GRU Director Igor] Sergun as a person with whom the United States could work.
The GRU is the wing of Russian military intelligence and, according to Mueller, would be responsible for the piracy of the DNC in 2016 and the provision of stolen emails to WikiLeaks.
Flynn also spoke about his 2015 speech at a reception in Moscow for the governmental media Russia Today, paid through his speaker's office. He told the authorities that he did not know who had paid for the office. Flynn also told the FBI agents that he would have "met Kislyak at the residence of the Russian ambassador" before this trip to Moscow, but that the meeting was just a "courtesy call" and that he had brought his son with him.
The release of the nearly unexploited FBI 302 comes amidst a wave of activity in the Flynn case today of the US District Court. US District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the release and audio of a voice message that John Dowd, a former Trump lawyer, had left to Flynn's lawyer, Robert Kelner, during the meeting. judicial inquiry into Mueller. Voicemail is cited in Mueller's report as an example of possible obstruction of justice.
The video was released the same day that Flynn's lawyers announced abruptly that they were dropping out prior to the sentencing, although a judge initially denied their application stating they had not followed the rules of procedure in force.
We do not know yet who Flynn wants to be part of his new defense team.
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