Four days after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, his then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn "willfully and knowingly" made "materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements" to the FBI about two conversations with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition period, court documents say.
Flynn pleaded guilty to Friday to one charge of lying to the FBI. It was then reported that Flynn promised full cooperation to special counsel Robert Mueller and is prepared to testify against Trump administration officials, including that then-candidate Trump "directed him to make contact with the Russians."
Just now: @BrianRoss on @ABC News Special Report: Flynn promised full cooperation to the Mueller team and is prepared to testify that candidate Trump "directed him to make contact with the Russians.” https://t.co/E0tA37GOo0 pic.twitter.com/PmNEO7eekt
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) December 1, 2017
It's, so far, the latest indication Flynn has been working with the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into the Trump campaigns alleged ties to Russia, and the country's interference in the 2016 election. It was reported recently that Flynn may have been cooperating with Mueller's investigators.
Flynn was charged with making false statements to the FBI when he was questioned on Jan. 24, 2017, regarding his conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The court documents stated that on or about Dec. 29, 2016, Flynn told the FBI he did not ask Kislyak "to refrain from escalating the situation in response to to sanctions the United State had imposed against Russia that same day." On that day, then-President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives in response to alleged election meddling.
Further, the court documents stated that Flynn told the FBI he "did not recall the Russian ambassador subsequently telling him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request."
In their second conversation, on or about Dec. 22, 2016, Flynn told the FBI he "did not ask the Russian ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution; and that the Russian ambassador subsequently never described to Flynn Russia's response to his request."
The conversation was in regards to a U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in Palestine. The U.S. abstained from voting, and Russia voted for the resolution along with 13 other nations, which opposed Flynn's reported request.
However, the news is important considering Mueller's investigators were looking into the role senior White House adviser, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, potentially played in the matter. The Trump administration has repeatedly denied that any campaign staffers, or transition staffers, engaged in talks with Russia or those otherwise connected to the Russian government.
Trump has written the investigation off as a "witch hunt" and continues to assert that it's a malicious attack against him.
Perhaps the most ironic aspect of Friday's news is that at the Republican National Convention, Flynn led a "Lock her up!" chant directed towards Trump's political opponent Hillary Clinton.
Reminder: Flynn chanted “lock her up” at the RNC, said “If I did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail.” pic.twitter.com/AQY79rlzhm
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 1, 2017
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