U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras said at Flynn’s plea hearing that the retired three-star Army general had agreed to provide "substantial assistance for prosecution of another person," suggesting that Flynn is helping the FBI target a higher-up in the White House.
According to court papers, Flynn repeatedly lied to FBI agents when they interviewed him at the White House on Jan. 24, four days after Trump was inaugurated, as part of the investigation into whether any of the president's aides had assisted Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Flynn’s cooperation means special counsel Robert S. Mueller III can focus on members of Trump’s inner circle, including the president’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, who took part in meetings with or concerning Russian officials or intermediaries last year or during the transition.
Mueller has not charged anyone with helping Russian hacking or other election-related misdeeds. But his probe has produced felony charges against some of Trump's former top aides, casting an ever darker shadow over the White House and sending a clear warning to those still in the cross-hairs.
The single charge against Flynn, who agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s team, stands in sharp contrast to the harsh case filed against Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his deputy, who refused to cooperate. They were charged with a dozen counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering on Oct. 30.
Flynn was released Friday on his own recognizance. Manafort's lawyers this week asked a judge to approve a bail package that would allow him limited travel in exchange for pledging properties worth $11.6 million.
In a statement, Flynn cited his 33 years of service in the Army, including five years in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It has been extraordinarily painful" to endure "false accusations of 'treason' and other outrageous acts," he said. "Such false accusations are contrary to everything I have ever done and stood for."
"But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and through my faith in God, I am working to set things right," he added. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions."
Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb, downplayed the significance of Flynn's promise of cooperation. Despite the judge's statement and prosecutor's filing, Cobb said, "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn."
"The conclusion of this phase of the special counsel's work demonstrates again that the special counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion," he said in a statement released by the White House.
Cobb also downplayed Flynn’s importance, saying that he was “at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration and a former Obama administration official.”
Flynn was fired as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 for what the Obama administration said was mismanagement. He became one of Trump's closest aides during the campaign and the transition, both as a surrogate and as a policy advisor.
After the election, Trump named him national security advisor, one of the most senior positions in the White House. But Flynn was forced to resign weeks later when the media disclosed he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.
The charge filed Friday focused chiefly on those contacts. According to court papers, Kislyak contacted Flynn on Dec. 28 after President Obama had announced he was imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its meddling in the U.S. election.
The next day, the filing says, Flynn "called a senior official" on Trump's transition team, who was with other aides at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, to seek guidance. They discussed the potential impact of the sanctions on Trump's foreign policy goals.
After the call, Flynn called Kislyak and "requested that Russia not escalate the situation." Flynn then spoke again with the senior official in the transition team "to report on the substance of his call… including their discussion of the U.S. sanctions."
Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated the next day that Russia would not retaliate for the U.S. sanctions, and Kislyak called Flynn to share the news, and he informed the transition team.
But in his Jan. 24 interview with the FBI, Flynn "falsely stated" that he did not ask Kislyak about the sanctions, and did not remember the follow-up conversations, the charging document states.
Flynn also pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak about a United Nations resolution passed last December criticizing Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
The Obama administration was planning to abstain from the vote on the resolution, a relatively rare move by the U.S., which normally vetoes U.N. resolutions critical of Israel.
Court documents indicate Flynn was the point man for an effort by the Trump transition team to block the resolution, apparently at the urging of Israel.
On Dec. 22 , Flynn was directed by a "very senior member of the Presidential Transition Team" to contact officials from Russia and other foreign governments "to influence those governments to delay the vote or defeat the resolution," according to a prosecution document.
The very senior transition official is not identified in the document. But Trump issued a statement Dec. 22 that called for the resolution to be vetoed.
"This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis," he said.
Flynn called Kislyak the same day and asked Russia, which holds a veto in the U.N. Security Council, to oppose the settlement resolution. Kislyak called back the next day and said Russia would not vote no, the prosecution document says.
A version of the resolution passed later that day after the U.S. abstained.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that Flynn's contacts with the Russians before Trump took office could be a violation of the Logan Act, a 1799 law prohibiting private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments.
Flynn's guilty plea is "a stunning revelation and could be a violation of the Logan Act," Feinstein said in a statement. "This is just one more proof point that these investigations must be allowed to continue without interference."
http://beta.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-flynn-plea-20171201-story.html
According to court papers, Flynn repeatedly lied to FBI agents when they interviewed him at the White House on Jan. 24, four days after Trump was inaugurated, as part of the investigation into whether any of the president's aides had assisted Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Flynn’s cooperation means special counsel Robert S. Mueller III can focus on members of Trump’s inner circle, including the president’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, who took part in meetings with or concerning Russian officials or intermediaries last year or during the transition.
Mueller has not charged anyone with helping Russian hacking or other election-related misdeeds. But his probe has produced felony charges against some of Trump's former top aides, casting an ever darker shadow over the White House and sending a clear warning to those still in the cross-hairs.
The single charge against Flynn, who agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s team, stands in sharp contrast to the harsh case filed against Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his deputy, who refused to cooperate. They were charged with a dozen counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering on Oct. 30.
Flynn was released Friday on his own recognizance. Manafort's lawyers this week asked a judge to approve a bail package that would allow him limited travel in exchange for pledging properties worth $11.6 million.
In a statement, Flynn cited his 33 years of service in the Army, including five years in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It has been extraordinarily painful" to endure "false accusations of 'treason' and other outrageous acts," he said. "Such false accusations are contrary to everything I have ever done and stood for."
"But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and through my faith in God, I am working to set things right," he added. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions."
Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb, downplayed the significance of Flynn's promise of cooperation. Despite the judge's statement and prosecutor's filing, Cobb said, "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn."
"The conclusion of this phase of the special counsel's work demonstrates again that the special counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion," he said in a statement released by the White House.
Cobb also downplayed Flynn’s importance, saying that he was “at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration and a former Obama administration official.”
Flynn was fired as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 for what the Obama administration said was mismanagement. He became one of Trump's closest aides during the campaign and the transition, both as a surrogate and as a policy advisor.
After the election, Trump named him national security advisor, one of the most senior positions in the White House. But Flynn was forced to resign weeks later when the media disclosed he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.
The charge filed Friday focused chiefly on those contacts. According to court papers, Kislyak contacted Flynn on Dec. 28 after President Obama had announced he was imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its meddling in the U.S. election.
The next day, the filing says, Flynn "called a senior official" on Trump's transition team, who was with other aides at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, to seek guidance. They discussed the potential impact of the sanctions on Trump's foreign policy goals.
After the call, Flynn called Kislyak and "requested that Russia not escalate the situation." Flynn then spoke again with the senior official in the transition team "to report on the substance of his call… including their discussion of the U.S. sanctions."
Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated the next day that Russia would not retaliate for the U.S. sanctions, and Kislyak called Flynn to share the news, and he informed the transition team.
But in his Jan. 24 interview with the FBI, Flynn "falsely stated" that he did not ask Kislyak about the sanctions, and did not remember the follow-up conversations, the charging document states.
Flynn also pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak about a United Nations resolution passed last December criticizing Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
The Obama administration was planning to abstain from the vote on the resolution, a relatively rare move by the U.S., which normally vetoes U.N. resolutions critical of Israel.
Court documents indicate Flynn was the point man for an effort by the Trump transition team to block the resolution, apparently at the urging of Israel.
On Dec. 22 , Flynn was directed by a "very senior member of the Presidential Transition Team" to contact officials from Russia and other foreign governments "to influence those governments to delay the vote or defeat the resolution," according to a prosecution document.
The very senior transition official is not identified in the document. But Trump issued a statement Dec. 22 that called for the resolution to be vetoed.
"This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis," he said.
Flynn called Kislyak the same day and asked Russia, which holds a veto in the U.N. Security Council, to oppose the settlement resolution. Kislyak called back the next day and said Russia would not vote no, the prosecution document says.
A version of the resolution passed later that day after the U.S. abstained.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that Flynn's contacts with the Russians before Trump took office could be a violation of the Logan Act, a 1799 law prohibiting private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments.
Flynn's guilty plea is "a stunning revelation and could be a violation of the Logan Act," Feinstein said in a statement. "This is just one more proof point that these investigations must be allowed to continue without interference."
http://beta.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-flynn-plea-20171201-story.html
