Michael Flynn was charged with one count of making a false statement to FBI agents and appeared in federal court in D.C.
In
a criminal information filing from Mueller’s team, the government
alleges that Flynn “willfully and knowingly made materially false,
fictitious, and fraudulent statements” in an interview with FBI agents
on Jan. 24. It alleges he falsely told the FBI that he did not ask the
Russian ambassador to refrain from retaliating to sanctions the Obama
administration imposed on Russia in late December. Flynn also allegedly
lied about asking the Russian ambassador on Dec. 22 to delay or defeat a
pending United Nations Security Council resolution.
Considering
all of the additional charges Flynn could have faced in connection with
his overseas dealings, the fact that he is facing only one charge is an
indication that Flynn is offering significant cooperation and
information that could further Mueller’s investigation.
![](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5a218756150000267a85b001.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
The Associated Press and Washington Post reported Friday that Flynn admitted in his plea that he spoke to the Russians at the direction of Trump transition team officials.
In response to Friday morning’s charge, Trump lawyer John Dowd told Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Ballhaus: “I have no reaction. I don’t know enough. I’m not worried about it.”
White House lawyer Ty Cobb said the plea implicates only Flynn.
“The
false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House
officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year,”
Cobb said in a statement. “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.”
The New York Times reported in late November that Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, was no longer sharing information with Trump’s legal team, further raising the possibility that Flynn was cooperating with Mueller’s probe. Kelner later met with the investigators, according to ABC News.
Flynn’s indictment follows Mueller’s team charging Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former aide Rick Gates with
12 counts, including allegations of conspiracy against the U.S. and
money laundering. Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to the charges
and are scheduled to face a federal trial in May.
In October, the investigators also reached a plea agreement with former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos,
who lied to the FBI about being offered “dirt” on Hillary Clinton
during the 2016 election. Papadopoulos also reportedly suggested a
meeting between then-candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir
Putin last year.
But those indictments involved only Trump campaign officials. Flynn
is the first former administration official to be charged, making it
more difficult for the White House to distance the president from
Mueller’s probe.
After Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey amid his investigation into the campaign, Comey testified that Trump had requested that he end the FBI’s investigation into Flynn.
After Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey amid his investigation into the campaign, Comey testified that Trump had requested that he end the FBI’s investigation into Flynn.
Flynn, who stepped down as Trump’s national security adviser in February after lying to administration officials about the extent of his communications with Russian officials, had long faced scrutiny from the multiple investigations into Trump’s campaign.
![](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5a2187c41900008c04033fea.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
Of particular interest was Flynn’s history of suspicious business dealings and financial ties to Russia, as well as his concealing that he worked as a foreign lobbyist for the Turkish government while advising Trump’s campaign.
In
the fall of 2016, a businessman with close ties to Turkey’s autocratic
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid Flynn more than $500,000 to conduct
research aimed at discrediting the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen. Flynn failed to disclose the work until March, after he had already stepped down as national security adviser.
Mueller’s team has reportedly investigated Flynn’s lobbying firm and its dealings with Turkey.
Flynn also hid multiple contacts with Russia during Trump’s
transition, including discussing sanctions with then-Russian ambassador
Sergey Kislyak.
He also attended a meeting with Kislyak to discuss creating a backchannel with Putin.
Also in attendance was Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner,
who is now a senior White House adviser and also reportedly a subject of
Mueller’s probe.
White House officials have repeatedly denied any collusion between
Trump’s team and Russia, often by downplaying suspected
officials’ involvement in the campaign or the administration. In March,
then-press secretary Sean Spicer diminished Flynn as just “a volunteer.”
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