Michael Flynn | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2012 | |
25th United States National Security Advisor | |
In office January 22, 2017 – February 13, 2017 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Deputy | K. T. McFarland |
Preceded by | Susan Rice |
Succeeded by | H. R. McMaster |
Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency | |
In office July 24, 2012 – August 7, 2014 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Ronald L. Burgess Jr. |
Succeeded by | David Shedd (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Thomas Flynn December 24, 1958 Middletown, Rhode Island, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic[needs update?] |
Spouse |
Lori Andrade (m. 1981) |
Relations | Charles A. Flynn (brother)[1] |
Children | 2 |
Education | |
Signature | ![]() |
Website | Official website |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1981–2014 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Unit | |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | |
Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who was the 25th U.S. National Security Advisor[2] for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of reports that he had lied regarding conversations with Sergey Kislyak. Flynn's military career included a key role in shaping U.S. counterterrorism strategy and dismantling insurgent networks in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, and he was given numerous combat arms, conventional, and special operations senior intelligence assignments.[3][4][5] He became the 18th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in July 2012 until his forced retirement from the military in August 2014.[6][7][8] During his tenure he gave a lecture on leadership at the Moscow headquarters of the Russian military intelligence directorate GRU, the first American official to be admitted entry to the headquarters.[9][10][11]
After leaving the military, in October 2014 he established Flynn Intel Group, which provided intelligence services for businesses and governments, including in Turkey.[12][13][14] In December 2015, Flynn was paid $45,000 to deliver a Moscow speech at the ten-year anniversary celebration of RT, a state-controlled Russian international television network, where he sat next to Russian president Vladimir Putin at his banquet table.[15]
In February 2016, Flynn became a national security advisor to Trump for his 2016 presidential campaign.[16][17] In March 2017, Flynn retroactively registered as a foreign agent, acknowledging that in 2016 he had conducted paid lobbying work that may have benefited Turkey's government.[18][19] On January 22, 2017, Flynn was sworn in as the National Security Advisor.[20] On February 13, 2017, he resigned after information surfaced that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about the nature and content of his communications with Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.[21][22][23] Flynn's tenure as the National Security Advisor is the shortest in the history of the position.[24][25]
In December 2017, Flynn formalized a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to plead guilty to a felony count of "willfully and knowingly" making false statements to the FBI about the Kislyak communications, and agreed to cooperate with the Special Counsel's investigation.[26] In June 2019, Flynn dismissed his attorneys and retained Sidney Powell, who on the same day wrote to attorney general Bill Barr seeking his assistance in exonerating Flynn. Powell had discussed the case on Fox News and spoken to President Trump about it on several occasions.[27][28][29] Two weeks before his scheduled sentencing, in January 2020 Flynn moved to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming government vindictiveness and breach of the plea agreement.[30] At Barr's direction, the Justice Department filed a court motion to drop all charges against Flynn on May 7, 2020.[31][32] Presiding federal judge Emmet Sullivan ruled the matter to be placed on hold to solicit amicus curiae briefs from third parties.[33] Powell then asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to compel Sullivan to drop the case, but her request was denied.[34] On November 25, 2020, Flynn was issued a presidential pardon by Trump.[35] On December 8, 2020, Judge Sullivan dismissed the criminal case against Flynn, stating he probably would have denied the Justice Department motion to drop the case.[36]
On July 4, 2020, Flynn pledged an oath to the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory,[37] and as Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in which he was defeated, Flynn suggested the president should suspend the Constitution, silence the press, and hold a new election under military authority.[38] Flynn later met with Trump and their attorney Powell in the Oval Office to discuss the president's options. Trump denied reports that Flynn's martial law idea had been discussed.[39][40][41] On January 8, 2021, Twitter permanently banned Flynn, Powell and others who promoted QAnon.[42]
Early life
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Michael_Flynn_in_1977.jpg/170px-Michael_Flynn_in_1977.jpg)
Michael Thomas Flynn was born and raised in Middletown, Rhode Island, one of nine siblings[4] born to Helen Frances (née Andrews), who worked in real estate, and Charles Francis Flynn, a small-town banker, both Catholics of Irish descent.[43][44][45][46][47] Flynn's family have a long tradition of serving in the armed forces; Helen's brother was a Navy submarine captain and their father an officer in World War II, Charles's father, Henry E. "Harry" Flynn, served in the Army during World War I, and Charles himself served in World War II and fought during the Battle of the Bulge while traveling under General George S. Patton.[48] Flynn's younger brother, Charles A. Flynn, is a four-star general.[49]
On July 24, 1972, after a local girl climbed into a car and accidentally released the parking brake, Flynn and a friend of his rushed to save two toddlers in its path; he was honored by the local town council for this act of heroism.[48] Flynn served time in juvenile detention for what he has described as "serious and unlawful activity" in his youth, the records of which were expunged after he served a year of supervised probation.[50][51] While at Middletown High School, Flynn met Lori Andrade, daughter of a prominent Portuguese family on Aquidneck Island, whom he married in 1981.[49][52][53]
He attended the University of Rhode Island where he initially struggled academically, earning a 1.2 GPA during his freshman year, however he was later awarded a three-year scholarship by the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and ultimately decided not to drop out. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in management science in 1981 and was a Distinguished Military Graduate of the ROTC.[8][51] Flynn later earned a Master of Business Administration in Telecommunications from Golden Gate University, a Master of Military Art and Science from the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course, Ranger School, Military Intelligence Officer Advanced Course, Army Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, and Naval War College.[8]
Military career
U.S. Army
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Flynn was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant in military intelligence in 1981.[8] His military assignments included multiple tours at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, and Joint Special Operations Command, where he deployed for the invasion of Grenada and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.[49][54] He also served with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and the Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.[8]
Initially, Flynn was not going to be deployed to Grenada in 1983, but he was able to convince a superior officer to have him included. While serving there, Flynn took a 40-foot leap off a cliff to retrieve two soldiers stranded in the ocean and bring them back to shore to be airlifted. Though he was reprimanded for his unauthorized actions, Flynn garnered respect among his fellow soldiers for what he did.[51][55]
Flynn served as the assistant chief of staff, G2, XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from June 2001 and the director of intelligence at the Joint Task Force 180 in Afghanistan until July 2002. He commanded the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade from June 2002 to June 2004[8] and was the director of intelligence for Joint Special Operations Command from July 2004 to June 2007, with service in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and the Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom). He and his superior, General McChrystal, streamlined all intelligence so as to increase the tempo of operations and degrade the networks of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[56]: 24 He served as the director of intelligence of the United States Central Command from June 2007 to July 2008, as the director of intelligence of the Joint Staff from July 2008 to June 2009, then the director of intelligence of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from June 2009 to October 2010.[8][57] Flynn was reprimanded for sharing classified U.S. intelligence information on the Haqqani network to Pakistani officials in 2009 or 2010. The network, which had been accused of attacking American troops, was a proxy ally of Pakistan.[58]
On November 10, 2015, Flynn gave an interview to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) Lessons Learned project.[59] Washington Post published an audio recording of the interview and SIGAR's summary as part of the Afghanistan Papers.[60]
Defense Intelligence Agency
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/From_left%2C_Deanie_Dempsey%3B_Chairman_of_the_Joint_Chiefs_of_Staff_U.S._Army_Gen._Martin_E._Dempsey%3B_Stephanie_Carter%3B_Deputy_Secretary_of_Defense_Ash_Carter%3B_Lori_Flynn%3B_and_Army_Gen._Michael_T._Flynn_130611-D-HU462-039.jpg/220px-thumbnail.jpg)
In September 2011, Flynn was promoted to Lieutenant General and assigned as assistant director of national intelligence in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. On April 17, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Flynn to be the 18th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.[61][62] Flynn took command of the DIA in July 2012.[63] He simultaneously became commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and chair of the Military Intelligence Board.
In October 2012, Flynn announced plans to release his paper "VISION2020: Accelerating Change Through Integration", a look at changes he believes are necessary for the DIA in the future.[64][65]
In June 2013, Michael Flynn became the first U.S. officer to be allowed inside the Russian military intelligence (GRU) headquarters in Moscow, where he arrived at the invitation of the GRU chief General Igor Sergun.[66] His follow-up trip to visit the GRU HQ as Director of DIA was not allowed.[9] Flynn also wanted to invite high-ranking GRU officials to the U.S., but this idea was rejected by the director of national intelligence, James Clapper.[67]
Stefan Halper, who worked for three Republican presidents and was a longtime informant for the American intelligence community, had a February 2014 encounter with Flynn at a London intelligence conference. Halper became so alarmed by Flynn's close association with a Russian woman that a Halper associate expressed concerns to American authorities that Flynn may have been compromised by Russian intelligence.[68]
Colleagues were concerned with Flynn's chaotic management style and increasingly hard-edged views about counterterrorism, and his superiors viewed him as insubordinate, according to Pentagon officials. In mid-2014, his two-year term at the DIA was not extended.[69]
Retirement from the military
On April 30, 2014, Flynn announced his retirement effective later that year, about a year earlier than he had been scheduled to leave his position. He was reportedly effectively forced out of the DIA after clashing with superiors over his allegedly chaotic management style and vision for the agency.[70][6][71][72] In a private e-mail that was leaked online, Colin Powell said he had heard in the DIA (apparently from later DIA director Vincent R. Stewart) that Flynn was fired because he was "abusive with staff, didn't listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc."[71] According to The New York Times, Flynn exhibited a loose relationship with the truth, leading his subordinates to refer to Flynn's repeated dubious assertions as "Flynn facts".[73]
According to what Flynn had said in one final interview as DIA director, he felt like a lone voice in thinking the United States was less safe from the threat of Islamic terrorism in 2014 than it was prior to the 9/11 attacks; he went on to believe he was pressed into retirement for questioning the Obama administration's public narrative that Al Qaeda was close to defeat.[7] Journalist Seymour Hersh wrote that "Flynn confirmed [to Hersh] that his agency had sent a constant stream of classified warnings ... about the dire consequences of toppling [Syrian President] Assad." Flynn recounted that his agency was producing intelligence reports indicating that radical Islamists were the main force in the Syrian insurgency and "that Turkey was looking the other way when it came to the growth of the Islamic State inside Syria". According to Flynn, these reports "got enormous pushback from the Obama administration", who he felt "did not want to hear the truth". According to former DIA official W. Patrick Lang: "Flynn incurred the wrath of the White House by insisting on telling the truth about Syria ... they shoved him out. He wouldn't shut up."[74] In an interview with Al Jazeera, Flynn criticized the Obama administration for its delay in supporting the opposition in Syria, thereby allowing for the growth of Al-Nusra and other extremist forces: "when you don't get in and help somebody, they're gonna find other means to achieve their goals" and that "we should have done more earlier on in this effort, you know, than we did."[75]
Flynn retired from the U.S. Army with 33 years of service on August 7, 2014.[76]
Post-military career
Consulting firm
Flynn, with his son Michael G. Flynn, ran the Flynn Intel Group Inc, which provided intelligence services for businesses and governments.[12][77] The company was founded in the fall of 2014, restarted in June 2015 as a Delaware company,[77] and closed in 2016.
Flynn was paid more than $65,000 by companies connected to Russia in 2015, including $11,250 each from Volga-Dnepr Airlines and the U.S. subsidiary of Kaspersky Lab.[77][78] Other clients included Palo Alto Networks, Francisco Partners, Brainwave Science and Adobe Systems.[77]
While working as a consultant, Flynn served on the board of several organizations, including GreenZone Systems, Patriot Capital, Brainwave, Drone Aviation and OSY Technologies.[77][79][80] Subsidiaries of the Flynn Intel Group included FIG Cyber Inc, headed by Timothy Newberry, and FIG Aviation.[79][81]
In July 2018, the consulting firm Stonington Global LLC announced that Flynn was joining the firm as its director of global strategy, though Flynn's attorneys disputed that there had ever been a partnership several hours later.[82]
Foreign agent
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Bijan_R._Kian.jpg/170px-Bijan_R._Kian.jpg)
In July 2016, Flynn spoke at a meeting of ACT! for America when the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was underway. He spoke favorably of the coup participants, saying that Erdoğan had been moving away from a secular state and towards an Islamist state, and that participants in the coup wanted Turkey to be and to be seen as a secular—a goal "worth clapping for".[84]
By the end of September 2016, Flynn's consulting company was hired by Inovo BV, a company owned by Kamil Ekim Alptekin, the Chair of the Turkish-American Business Council, which is an arm of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK).[85][86] The company has links to President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.[87] Flynn was paid $530,000 by Alptekin for Flynn's lobbying work.[19][86] Flynn only registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department later on March 8, 2017, for the work completed by November 2016. Flynn acknowledged his work may have benefited Turkey's government.[19]
On November 8, 2016 (election day in the United States), an op-ed written by Flynn was published by The Hill, now calling for U.S. backing for Erdoğan's government and criticizing the regime's opponent, Fethullah Gülen, alleging that Gülen headed a "vast global network" that fit the description of "a dangerous sleeper terror network".[88][89] At the time, Flynn did not disclose that his consulting firm had received funds from a company with ties to the Turkish government.[90] After Flynn's ties had been disclosed by The Daily Caller, Politico, and others, the editor of The Hill added a note to Flynn's op-ed, stating that Flynn had failed to disclose that he had been engaged at the time in "consulting work that might have aided the government of Turkey", that his firm had received payments from a company with close ties to the Turkish government, or that the company had reviewed the draft of the op-ed before it was submitted to The Hill.[88]
On March 24, 2017, former Director of the CIA James Woolsey said that in September 2016 Flynn, while working for the Trump presidential campaign, had attended a meeting in a New York hotel with Turkish officials including foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and energy minister Berat Albayrak, son-in-law of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and had discussed abducting Fethullah Gülen and sending him to Turkey, bypassing the U.S. extradition legal process.[91][92]
Flynn sat in on classified national security briefings with then-candidate Trump at the same time that Flynn was working for foreign clients, which raises ethical concerns and conflicts of interest.[93][94] Flynn was paid at least $5,000 to serve as a consultant to a U.S.-Russian project to build 40 nuclear reactors across the Middle East, which Flynn's failure to disclose was flagged by Representatives Elijah Cummings and Eliot Engel as a possible violation of federal law.[95][96]
Attendance at RT gala dinner
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Vladimir_Putin%2C_Russia_Today_television_channel_%282015-12-10%29_04.jpg/220px-Vladimir_Putin%2C_Russia_Today_television_channel_%282015-12-10%29_04.jpg)
On December 10, 2015, Flynn attended a gala dinner in Moscow in honor of RT (formerly "Russia Today"), a Russian government-owned English-language media outlet, on which he made semi-regular appearances as an analyst after he retired from U.S. government service.[97]
Flynn sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the dinner, leading journalist Michael Crowley of Politico to report that "at a moment of semi-hostility between the U.S. and Russia, the presence of such an important figure at Putin's table startled" U.S. officials.[78][98][100] As part of the festivities, Flynn gave a talk on world affairs for which he was paid at least $45,000.[97] Flynn defended the RT payment in an interview with Michael Isikoff.[100]
On February 1, 2017, the ranking Democratic members on six House committees sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, requesting a Department of Defense investigation into Flynn's connection to RT.[101][102][103] The legislators expressed concern that Flynn had violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution by accepting money from RT.[101]
According to Representative Elijah Cummings of the House Oversight Committee, Flynn in February 2016 had told the Defense Department that he had not received money from foreign companies, and had had only "insubstantial contact" with foreigners.[78] Glenn A. Fine, the acting Defense Department Inspector General, confirmed an investigation of Flynn was opened in April 2017, though it was placed on hold for more than three years while the Justice Department prosecuted Flynn on unrelated charges.[104][78] After Trump pardoned Flynn in November 2020, the Justice Department notified the Pentagon that the inspector general's investigation could resume. The investigation was completed on January 27, 2021, and its findings forwarded to acting Secretary of the Army John Whitley.[105]
2016 U.S. presidential election
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Michael_Flynn_%2830020745053%29.jpg/220px-Michael_Flynn_%2830020745053%29.jpg)
Having already been consulted regarding national security by Carly Fiorina as well as other candidates, including Scott Walker, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump,[106] Flynn was asked in February 2016 to serve as an adviser to the Trump campaign.[107]
In July 2016, it was reported he was being considered as Trump's running mate; Flynn later confirmed that he had submitted vetting documents to the campaign and, although a registered Democrat, was willing to accept the Republican vice-presidential nomination if chosen.[108][109] However, Trump instead selected Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
As one of the keynote speakers during the first night of the 2016 Republican National Convention, Flynn gave what the Los Angeles Times described as a "fiery" speech, in which he said: "We are tired of Obama's empty speeches and his misguided rhetoric. This, this has caused the world to have no respect for America's word, nor does it fear our might."[110] He accused Obama of choosing to conceal the actions of Osama bin Laden and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[111] Flynn went on to criticize political correctness and joined the crowd in a chant of "U-S-A! U-S-A!". During the chants, he told those in the audience, "Get fired up! This is about our country."[110][112]
During the speech, Flynn attacked Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton; he encouraged the crowd to chant "Lock her up!"; saying "Damn right! Exactly right! There is nothing wrong with that!"[7] He called for Clinton to withdraw from the race, claiming that "if I did a tenth -a tenth- of what she did, I would be in jail today."[58] He repeated in subsequent interviews that she should be "locked up".[106] While campaigning for Trump, Flynn also referred to Clinton as the "enemy camp".[58] Six days after the speech, Flynn stirred up a controversy by retweeting anti-Semitic remarks, which he later apologized for and claimed were unintentional.[113] During the campaign, Flynn also posted links to false articles and conspiracy theories relating to Clinton on Twitter,[114] including the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.[115]
Flynn was once opposed to waterboarding and other torture techniques that have now been banned. However, according to an August 2016 Washington Post article, he said, in the context of Trump's apparent openness to reinstating such techniques, that he "would be reluctant to take options off the table".[58] In May 2016, an Al Jazeera reporter asked Flynn if he would support Trump's stated plan to "take out [the] families"[116][117] of people suspected of being involved in terrorism. In response, Flynn said, "I would have to see the circumstances of that situation."[58] In an interview with Al Jazeera, Flynn criticized the U.S. reliance on drones as a failed strategy, saying "what we have is this continued investment in conflict. The more weapons we give, the more bombs we drop, that just ... fuels the conflict."[75][118]
On August 16, 2016, the FBI opened a case on Flynn as part of its Crossfire Hurricane investigation.[119] The purpose of the investigation was to find out if Flynn was knowingly or unknowingly "involved in activity on behalf of the Russian Federation which may constitute a federal crime or threat to the national security" of the United States.[120] A review of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, done by Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, was completed in December 2019. It concluded that "the quantum of information articulated by the FBI to open" the individual investigation on Flynn "was sufficient to satisfy the low threshold established by the [Justice] Department and the FBI". The review "did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced the decisions to open" the investigation against Flynn.[121]
The Trump transition team during the campaign, chaired by Chris Christie, opposed Flynn serving as National Security Adviser or in any other high-level position because he was viewed as "a loose cannon".[56]: 46
Advocacy of technology transfer to Saudi Arabia
During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign of Donald Trump, and subsequently, Flynn and Jared Kushner were engaged in promoting IP3 International's plan to transfer nuclear technology from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia, for use in a proposed joint U.S.-French-Russian-British project, in possible violation of the law.[122][123][124][125][126]
National Security Advisor
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Trump administration transition
On November 18, 2016, Flynn accepted Trump's offer for the position of National Security Advisor.[127] During their meeting in the Oval Office two days after the election, Obama expressed "profound concerns" about placing Flynn in a sensitive, high-level national security post, and warned President-elect Trump against hiring Flynn.[128] On January 4, 2017, Flynn informed transition team counsel Don McGahn, soon to become the White House Counsel, that he was under federal investigation for secret lobbying work he had done for Turkey during the campaign. Trump later questioned in May 2019 why he had not been told Flynn was under investigation so he could have removed Flynn from his team.[129][130][131] Sean Spicer questioned why the Obama administration, if they believed Flynn to be a national-security risk, had failed to revoke Flynn's security clearance.[132]
Prior to his appointment, media sources including The Washington Post and Associated Press had criticized his alleged close relations with Russia,[98][100][133][134] and his alleged promotion of anti-Clinton conspiracy theories and fake news during the 2016 presidential campaign.[114][135]
In December 2016, Flynn met with Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), at Trump Tower in New York.[136]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/The_Handshake_%2832102261902%29.jpg/220px-The_Handshake_%2832102261902%29.jpg)
Ten days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Flynn told then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice not to proceed with a planned invasion of Raqqa using Kurdish People's Protection Units.[137] Flynn's decision would delay the campaign—which had taken seven months to plan—for several more months, but was consistent with Turkish objections to working with Kurdish troops.[138]
Contacts with the Russian ambassador
Flynn's history with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak dated to 2013; they met when Kislyak coordinated Flynn's trip to Moscow for Flynn's work with the Defense Intelligence Agency.[139]
On November 30, 2016, Flynn joined a meeting between Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and Kislyak at Trump Tower.[140] U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted Kislyak's report to Russian officials about the meeting.[141] Kislyak wanted Russian generals to discuss the topic of American policy in Syria with the Trump transition team on a secure channel; however, Flynn said the Trump transition team did not possess such channels in their offices. Kushner wanted to use secure channels at the Russian embassy, but Kislyak declined.[142]
Flynn and Kislyak then spoke by phone several times in late December and January. On behalf of the Israeli government, Trump and his transition team called several foreign governments, urging them to oppose or delay a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine. Flynn was tasked by Kushner with talking to Kislyak about this, and they spoke on December 22 and 23. Russia ultimately chose not to oppose the resolution.[143][144][145][146]
On December 29, President Obama announced that in response to the Russian government's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, the United States would take retaliatory measures, including the expulsion of 35 suspected Russian intelligence agents.[140][147] Trump and his transition team feared that the sanctions would damage Russia-U.S. relations,[148][149] and Flynn spoke with Kislyak that day, urging Russia to only respond in a "reciprocal" manner to the sanctions and not escalate.[140] Flynn conferred with incoming deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland both before and after calling Kislyak, and McFarland informed other Trump transition team members.[145][148][149] On December 31, Kislyak called Flynn, informing him that Putin had not retaliated because Putin had accepted Flynn's request.[150] The Obama administration was astonished by Russia's decision not to retaliate.[148] U.S. intelligence agencies routinely monitor Kislyak's calls, and Obama administration officials discovered on January 2 that Flynn had spoken to Kislyak multiple times during the previous few days.[151]
On January 12, columnist David Ignatius, writing for The Washington Post, made public that Flynn had called Kislyak on December 29 and questioned if Flynn had said anything to "undercut the U.S. sanctions".[152][153][154] Flynn instructed K.T. McFarland to lie to The Washington Post that Flynn had not discussed the sanctions with Kislyak; McFarland did this, knowing it was false,[155] and The Washington Post reported the denial.[152] Flynn proceeded to lie about not discussing the sanctions with Kislyak to incoming chief-of-staff Reince Priebus, incoming press secretary Sean Spicer, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who repeated Flynn's falsehood to the media.[140][155]<ref name="PolantzApril30">{{cite news|last1=Polantz|first1=Katelyn|last2=Cohen|first2=Marshall|last3=Lybrand|first3=Holmes|last4=Kaufman|first4=Ellie|last5=Fossum|first5=Sam|date=April 30, 2019|title=77 lies and falsehoods Mueller called out|work=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.
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- ^ Whitlock, Craig; Miller, Greg (December 14, 2016). "Trump's national security adviser shared secrets without permission, files show". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b Abramson, Alana (July 18, 2016). "Michael Flynn: Everything You Need to Know". ABC News. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ Roulo, Claudette (August 7, 2014). "Rogers Lauds Retiring Defense Intelligence Agency Chief". DoD News, Defense Media Activity.
- ^ a b Miller, Greg; Goldman, Adam (April 30, 2014). "Head of Pentagon intelligence agency forced out, officials say". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c Kitfield, James (October 16, 2016). "How Mike Flynn Became America's Angriest General". Politico Magazine.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, USA: Director". Defense Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- ^ a b Harding, Luke; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Hopkins, Nick (March 31, 2017). "Michael Flynn: new evidence spy chiefs had concerns about Russian ties: U.S. and UK officials were troubled by Moscow contacts and encounter with woman linked to Russian spy agency records". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Russia, Trump, Turkey: Detailing Michael Flynn's fall". PolitiFact.
- ^ Gloria Borger; Pamela Brown; Jim Sciutto; Marshall Cohen; Eric Lichtblau (May 20, 2017). "First on CNN: Russian officials bragged they could use Flynn to influence Trump, sources say". CNN Digital.
- ^ a b McBride, Jessica (July 10, 2016). "Michael Flynn: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ Baker, Peter; Rosenberg, Matthew (March 10, 2017). "Michael Flynn Was Paid to Represent Turkey's Interests During Trump Campaign". The New York Times.
- ^ Baker, Peter; Rosenberg, Matthew (March 10, 2017). "Michael Flynn Was Paid to Represent Turkey's Interests During Trump Campaign (Published 2017)". The New York Times.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- "Russians paid Mike Flynn $45k for RT speech, documents show". NBC News.
- Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (March 16, 2017). "Trump adviser Flynn paid by multiple Russia-related entities, new records show" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- Lee, Shane Harris, Paul Sonne and Carol E. (March 16, 2017). "Mike Flynn Worked for Several Russian Companies, Was Paid More Than $50,000, Documents Show". Wall Street Journal – via www.wsj.com.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Arkin, Daniel (April 2, 2017). "Michael Flynn initially failed to disclose payments from Russia-linked firms, documents show". CNBC.
- ^ Holland, Mark Hosenball, Steve (February 26, 2016). "Trump being advised by ex-U.S. Lieutenant General who favors closer Russia ties". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Michael Flynn: timeline of the former national security adviser's case". The Guardian. December 5, 2018.
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cheney, Kyle; Gerstein, Josh (December 19, 2020). "Trump sought to tap Sidney Powell as special counsel for election fraud". Politico. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ "Twitter bans Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell in QAnon account purge". NBC News.
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Brainwave is seeking to develop a market for its innovative—but broadly disputed—technology called "brain fingerprinting" which tries to assess an interrogation subject's honesty through a brain scan. Flynn was brought onto the company's board of advisers to help sell the product to defense and law enforcement agencies, Brainwave President Krishna Ika said in an interview.
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