Trump pardons former adviser Flynn, who pleaded guilty in Russia probe

[webfact 79,187]

Trump pardons former adviser Flynn, who pleaded guilty in Russia probe

 

FILE PHOTO: Former national security adviser Michael Flynn exits a vehicle as he arrives for his sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

 

"It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

 

A retired Army general, Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about interactions he had with Russia’s ambassador to the United States in the weeks leading up to Trump's inauguration in January 2017.

 

He has since sought to withdraw the plea, arguing that prosecutors violated his rights and duped him into a plea agreement. His sentencing has been deferred several times.

 

It was the highest-profile pardon granted by Trump since he took office. Among others, the Republican president has pardoned Army personnel accused of war crimes in Afghanistan and Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff and hardliner against illegal immigration.

 

Flynn served as Trump's first national security adviser but the president fired him in early 2017 after only 24 days as a controversy broke over the former general's contacts with then Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

 

Flynn was one of several former Trump aides to plead guilty or be convicted at trial in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election to boost Trump’s candidacy. Russia denied meddling.

 

Trump in March said he was strongly considering a full pardon for Flynn. He said the FBI and Justice Department had "destroyed" Flynn's life and that of his family, and cited an unspecified, unsubstantiated report that they had lost records related to Flynn.

 

Flynn was supposed to help cooperate with the government as part of his plea deal. But he later switched lawyers and tactics, arguing that prosecutors in the case had tricked him into lying about his December 2016 conversations with Kislyak.

 

The Justice Department has repeatedly denied allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, and U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected all of Flynn’s claims in December 2019.

 

Federal prosecutors had asked the judge in January to sentence Flynn to up to six months in prison, arguing in a court filing that "the defendant has not learned his lesson. He has behaved as though the law does not apply to him, and as if there are no consequences for his actions."

 

Flynn also served as head of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency but was forced out in 2014 in part due to his management style and opinions on how to fight Islamist militancy.

 

He joined the Trump 2016 election campaign and at the Republican National Convention that year he led supporters in chants of "Lock her up," in reference to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

 

Other former Trump aides were convicted of federal crimes following the Russia inquiry. Trump's longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone was sentenced on Feb. 20 to three years and four months in prison for obstruction of justice, witness tampering and lying to lawmakers investigating the Russian election interference.

 

Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, was sentenced last year to 3-1/2 years in prison after being convicted of unlawful lobbying and witness tampering, which combined with a sentence in a related case equaled a term of more than seven years behind bars.

 

Trump, defeated in a presidential election on Nov. 3, is due to leave the White House on Jan. 20 when President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

 

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Howard Goller)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-26

 

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[Tug 21,576]

To bad would have been great to know what he and trump had cooked up with the russans it’s also another slap in the face of the American judicial system imo sad but not unexpected 

[thaibeachlovers 33,000]

Excellent news. IMO justice for Flynn at last.

 

Hopefully more pardons on the way.

[Credo 10,204]

I have no problem with lessening the burden on the incoming President.  There are enough people to prosecute.  

 

[Sujo 16,984]

18 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Excellent news. IMO justice for Flynn at last.

 

Hopefully more pardons on the way.

Justice would be for him to be sentenced.

 

trump fired him for lying to his vp. He then lies to the fbi and admits it two times to the court.

[Tippaporn 8,980]

41 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Excellent news. IMO justice for Flynn at last.

 

Hopefully more pardons on the way.

I'm a bit surprised.  I thought the case would have been tossed on the merits.  What I would not be surprised about is Flynn rejoining Trump.  CIA Director would sound about right.

[stevenl 29,406]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Excellent news. IMO justice for Flynn at last.

 

Hopefully more pardons on the way.

And you complain about the swamp?

[Chomper Higgot 35,665]

So Trump strips Flynn of his Fifth Amendment rights wrt to the crimes he committed for Trump.

 

I’m not sure why any Trump supporter thinks that’s a good move.

 

Flynn cannot now withhold testimony without facing prosecution for obstruction of justice.

 

55 days to a new USAG.

 

What a difference an election makes.

 

 

[PatOngo 44,805]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Excellent news. IMO justice for Flynn at last.

 

Hopefully more pardons on the way.

 

No doubt Trump will exonerate more of his criminal buddies and to show that birds of a feather stick together, a disgusting man if ever there was one!

[Chomper Higgot 35,665]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Why? Biden has already said he won't pursue Trump. Presidential pardons don't apply to state prosecutions.

Biden has not said he will not pursue Trump.

 

He has said he will not interfere in the work of the DoJ, that he will not direct decisions on who the DoJ investigate and/or indict and he will absolutely not pardon Trump.

 

How you read Biden’s statements as ‘not pursue Trump’ is anybody’s guess.

[stevenl 29,406]

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Why? Biden has already said he won't pursue Trump. Presidential pardons don't apply to state prosecutions.

No, he didn't say that.

[PatOngo 44,805]

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Biden has not said he will not pursue Trump.

Hopefully there are plenty of others that will!

[Lacessit 22,928]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Excellent news. IMO justice for Flynn at last.

 

Hopefully more pardons on the way.

Someone admits he is guilty, and you consider pardoning that person is justice? What a novel concept.

[ballpoint 15,803]

Pardon the swamp!

[cmarshall 2,974]

So, Trump will pardon his spawn and the loyalists like Manafort.  He would dearly love to pardon himself, but any lawyer will tell him that a self-pardon might well not survive a court challenge.  He can get a legitimate presidential pardon from Pence either by resigning as president at which point Pence succeeds to become a nine-day president or by activating the 25th Amendment by sending a letter to Congress advising them that he has transferred the powers of the office temporarily to the Vice President for a period of days or just hours.  So, that bullet-proof pardon gets him off the hook for all the federal crimes he has ever committed.  He still faces prosecution in NY State and possibly other states as well.  He can also be subpoenaed to testify in court or in Congress without any Fifth Amendment protection.  And he can then be prosecuted by the DoJ for any perjury or obstruction of justice crimes he has committed after the pardon.  

 

If I were his lawyer I would advise him to flee the country to Saudi Arabia, Russia, or some other country without an extradition treaty with the US.  Otherwise, he will go to prison.

Edited November 26, 2020 by cmarshall