[ad_1]
President Trump has told confidants he plans to pardon his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts, two sources told Axios having direct knowledge of the discussions.
In the wings: Sources with first-hand knowledge of the talks said Flynn would be part of a series of pardons Trump will issue between now and his departure.
The big picture: Flynn’s pardon would be the culmination of a four-year political and legal saga that began with the FBI’s investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in the 2016 election.
- The retired lieutenant general is seen by many Trump supporters as a victim of political retaliation from the Obama administration.
- Flynn’s attorneys and members of the conservative media have accused the FBI of setting him up and cited his case as part of a larger campaign to discredit the Russia investigation.
- Earlier this year, Trump commuted the sentence of Roger Stone, another associate accused in the Mueller inquiry who the president said had been unfairly targeted in a political witch hunt.
The backdrop: Flynn’s legal troubles began during the 2016 presidential transition, when he urged former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in a phone call not to escalate in response to the Obama administration imposing sanctions to Russia for electoral interference.
- Flynn then lied about not discussing sanctions, to Vice President Mike Pence who repeated the denial to the media – which alarmed Department of Justice officials who feared the lies had left Flynn vulnerable to blackmail Russian.
- In January 2017, Flynn was questioned without the presence of a lawyer by FBI agents as part of a counter-intelligence investigation into Russian interference. He later admitted to lying to the FBI as part of a plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Front flash: In January 2020, after two years of delay in sentencing due to his cooperation with the Mueller investigation, Flynn and his new legal team sought to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging misconduct by the prosecution.
- A federal prosecutor appointed to review the case by Attorney General Bill Barr recommended that the charges be dropped, saying the FBI interview in which Flynn lied was “conducted without any legitimate basis for investigation.”
- District Judge Emmet Sullivan did not immediately agree to drop the charges and asked outside legal experts to rule on the unusual case.
- Flynn’s lawyers have filed an emergency appeal to force the judge to comply with the DOJ’s request.
- This culminated in a protracted legal fight, which ended in August with an appeals court alongside Sullivan.
To note: Flynn’s attorney, Sidney Powell, admitted at a hearing in September that she had spoken to Trump recently and asked that he not grant her a pardon. It’s unclear what discussions Powell and the President have had since then.
The bottom line: Trump’s forgiveness of Flynn would take the case out of the hands of the courts and a Biden-controlled Justice Department.
What to watch: In his final weeks in office, Trump is approaching the point where former presidents have granted pardons, and he has the potential to kick his friends and supporters out of all federal criminal convictions on his way out.
[ad_2]
Source link