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Oh Shit! Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying About Russia Probe
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Genero36



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 1:17 pm    ::: Oh Shit! Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying About Russia Probe Reply Reply with quote



Quote:
In court Friday morning, Flynn's only comments were to answer yes and no to questions from the judge. He told the judge he has not been coerced to plead guilty or been promised a specific sentence. Flynn faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines, though the judge Friday morning stressed he could impose a harsher or lighter sentence.

In a statement, Flynn said he acknowledged that his actions "were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right.

"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," he said.


http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/01/politics/michael-flynn-charged/index.html




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Last edited by Genero36 on 12/01/17 1:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
Genero36



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 1:25 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

He definitely didn't hold his water and snitched. Sessions, Cheeto Jr., and Kushner got next.




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jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 2:09 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Just watching CNN. I have to say this. The difference between the analysis by Carl Bernstein and that of David Gregory is PAINFUL. FUCKING painful. And Gregory was chirping to interrupt Carl Bernstein to say the nothingburger SHIT he said? I'm tempted to transcribe the entire thing.

There's no hope. When the the almost extinct now generations of great reporters are gone, we're fucking finished here, folks. Game over.


pilight



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 2:12 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:
There's no hope. When the the almost extinct now generations of great reporters are gone, we're fucking finished here, folks. Game over.


American journalism is dead? Again?



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sambista



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 2:53 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:
Just watching CNN. I have to say this. The difference between the analysis by Carl Bernstein and that of David Gregory is PAINFUL. FUCKING painful. And Gregory was chirping to interrupt Carl Bernstein to say the nothingburger SHIT he said? I'm tempted to transcribe the entire thing.

There's no hope. When the the almost extinct now generations of great reporters are gone, we're fucking finished here, folks. Game over.


i would trade in a whole bunch of 'em to have tim russert back. i've endured too many white house briefings to see they can't get real answers because they don't know how to ask the questions. russert was genius at nailing folks to the wall without burning bridges.



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cthskzfn



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 3:08 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

sambista wrote:
jammerbirdi wrote:
Just watching CNN. I have to say this. The difference between the analysis by Carl Bernstein and that of David Gregory is PAINFUL. FUCKING painful. And Gregory was chirping to interrupt Carl Bernstein to say the nothingburger SHIT he said? I'm tempted to transcribe the entire thing.

There's no hope. When the the almost extinct now generations of great reporters are gone, we're fucking finished here, folks. Game over.


i would trade in a whole bunch of 'em to have tim russert back. i've endured too many white house briefings to see they can't get real answers because they don't know how to ask the questions. russert was genius at nailing folks to the wall without burning bridges.


Russert was an asshole, imo.

One of his great "gotcha" nothing burgers was "nailing" Dennis Kucinich re "UFOs".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSRWRbuMqyc


Kucinich got the better of Russert tho, vis a vie his Roswell and Exeter references, which likely flew over Russert's head (not unlike a UFO). Smile



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cthskzfn



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 3:32 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Gotta believe Mueller got a treasure trove of info from Flynn in exchange for this slap on the wrist.

Next up, Jared?



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justintyme



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 7:10 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

On the First day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
an impeachment of the Trump Team.

On the Second day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Third day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Fourth day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Fifth day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Sixth day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Six Flynns a-flipping
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Seventh day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Seven pawns a-singing
Six Flynns a-flipping
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Eighth day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Eight aides a-running
Seven pawns a-singing
Six Flynns a-flipping
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Ninth day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Nine Russians calling
Eight aides a-running
Seven pawns a-singing
Six Flynns a-flipping
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Tenth day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Ten hordes a-swarming
Nine Russians calling
Eight aides a-running
Seven pawns a-singing
Six Flynns a-flipping
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Eleventh day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Eleven Kushners cringing
Ten hordes a-swarming
Nine Russians calling
Eight aides a-running
Seven pawns a-singing
Six Flynns a-flipping
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team

On the Twelfth day of Christmas Bob Mueller gave to me
Twelve colluders colluding
Eleven Kushners cringing
Ten hordes a-swarming
Nine Russians calling
Eight aides a-running
Seven pawns a-singing
Six Flynns a-flipping
Five Houses flipped
Four perjured words
Three turned friends
Two indictments done
And an impeachment of the Trump Team



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mercfan3



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 10:14 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

cthskzfn wrote:
Gotta believe Mueller got a treasure trove of info from Flynn in exchange for this slap on the wrist.

Next up, Jared?


Early on, I read reports that Mueller wanted Flynn to give him info on Pence.

Hoping that's the reason Flynn got a slap on the wrist.



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jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 10:25 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

ABC's Brian Ross is reporting that Flynn made decision to plead guilty in the last 24 hours and is prepared to testify against POTUS and members of the Trump family.

@BrianRoss

CLARIFICATION of ABC News Special Report: Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians...


jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 10:54 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

lol. Now ABCNews is reporting that Kushner directed Flynn to contact the Russians. I think I picked up some older incorrect tweets. Confused


mercfan3



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 10:56 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:
lol. Now ABCNews is reporting that Kushner directed Flynn to contact the Russians. I think I picked up some older incorrect tweets. Confused


I'm guessing the news only knows the tip of the iceberg.

They'll get all ADHD about it tomorrow and start talking about whatever Donnie tweets out, again. Probably something to do with the NFL.



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GlennMacGrady



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PostPosted: 12/01/17 11:57 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

People should always get their information from as close to the source as possible. Not from partisan experts on TV. Not from social media. Not from comedy shows. Not from RebKell.

Here are all the original legal source documents relating to the Flynn guilty plea, including the charge, the plea agreement and the stipulated facts:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/read-the-charge-against-former-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn/2263/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_doc-flynncharge-944am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

It's pretty easy to read. But since almost no one will, my reading of this is that it's legally rather trivial.

Flynn is charged with one felony count of lying to the FBI. That one count encompasses four lies Flynn told about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Two lies relate to the content of conversations about sanctions, and two lies relate to the content of conversations about a U.N. Security Council vote concerning Israel.

None of these conversations was in any way illegal. Nor was the conduct that was conversed about. The only illegal thing Flynn did was to materially misstate (lie about) the content of the conversations to the FBI last January.

Flynn was perjury trapped, just like George Papadopolous, who plead guilty to lying about when he talked to an overseas professor and a Russian woman -- he said early March when it was really mid-March or April. Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby were similarly perjury trapped; they did nothing wrong except tell a lie about things that were perfectly legal. This is the evil of special prosecutors. They are incentivized to create crimes that would never have existed if the special counsel process didn't exist. Hence, they are sometimes called "process crimes".

Flynn also stipulated to lying about a bunch of stuff having to do with work he did for Turkey. The DOJ agreed not to prosecute him for any of this in exchange for his guilty plea. The plea agreement states that, although a federal judge has discretion to make the final sentencing decision, the federal sentencing guidelines for Flynn's offense are zero to six months in prison and/or a fine of $500 to $9,500.

The only other nuggets I see in this paperwork are that Flynn stipulates that he discussed his sanctions discussion with a "senior official" of the Presidential Transition Team, and that he was "directed" by a "very senior official" of the PTT to contact various governments, including Russia, about the upcoming U.N. vote. Again, none of these directions, discussions or related conduct is illegal. The only additional possible illegalities discernible from these papers would occur if the "senior official" or the "very senior official" lie to federal investigators about their conversations with Flynn. In other words, more perjury trap gimmickry, more process crimes.

Also keep in mind, after one month on the job, Trump immediately fired Flynn for telling the same lies to Vice President Pence about the Russian sanctions conversations that Flynn now admits he told to the FBI.
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PostPosted: 12/02/17 1:54 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

GlennMacGrady wrote:
People should always get their information from as close to the source as possible. Not from partisan experts on TV. Not from social media. Not from comedy shows. Not from RebKell.

Here are all the original legal source documents relating to the Flynn guilty plea, including the charge, the plea agreement and the stipulated facts:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/read-the-charge-against-former-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn/2263/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_doc-flynncharge-944am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

It's pretty easy to read. But since almost no one will, my reading of this is that it's legally rather trivial.

Of course it is. This is what they are having him plead to in order to gain his cooperation and potential testimony against their true "big fish" target.

The whole point of this is to get to the top, and Flynn is a step towards it. The fact that what they got him on was lying is unimportant. It is the tool that the FBI an other federal agencies use all the time to get people to flip.

I really don't know what you expected to find in the plea agreement. What he was guilty of is not what is key, nor really that important at all. What is key is what he knows about what happened during the campaign, specifically about how closely Trump and his inner circle was working with Russia to get dirt against Hillary. He was in position to know things, and now that he is cooperating, Mueller will know all this too.

Which is likely scaring the shit out of Kushner and Trump.



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jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 1:27 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Glenn, don’t they also retain the right to charge him later for all those crimes left out of the plea deal?


justintyme



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 1:53 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

GlennMacGrady wrote:
Flynn is charged with one felony count of lying to the FBI. That one count encompasses four lies Flynn told about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Two lies relate to the content of conversations about sanctions, and two lies relate to the content of conversations about a U.N. Security Council vote concerning Israel.

None of these conversations was in any way illegal. Nor was the conduct that was conversed about. The only illegal thing Flynn did was to materially misstate (lie about) the content of the conversations to the FBI last January.

This also isn't technically true. He would have violated the Logan Act by being a private citizen and engaging in talks on behalf of the US without being authorized to do so by the government at the time.

Of course any conviction would likely be overturned since the act is generally considered unconstitutionally vague even though it has never been offically looked at by SCOTUS.

But as the laws currently stand, he and anyone who authorized him to do so committed a felony under current law.



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GlennMacGrady



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 2:47 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:
Glenn, don’t they also retain the right to charge him later for all those crimes left out of the plea deal?


What crimes?

The documents recite that Flynn lied about business relations he had with Turkey, which is completely unrelated to the 2016 election. The DOJ agreed they would not charge him with those lies. If there are other crimes Flynn committed that are not even mentioned in the plea deal, then yes he could be charged with them. But, to me, this deal is a signal that there are no such other crimes. That's all they've got on Flynn.

Everyone should keep in mind three overarching things. First, Mueller's job is only to investigate and prosecute federal crimes. Second, the scope of his investigation is supposed to be crimes related to Russian interference with the campaign and election. Third, "collusion" is not a crime or even a legal word, and hence collusion with Russia or anyone else is not a crime. Some other, criminally defined conduct has to be found.

So far, there is no evidence or even a leak that Mueller has found anything relating to criminal conduct between the Trump campaign and Russia to affect the election.

I believe the investigation of Manafort and his business partners is complete. He was charged with business crimes during his lobbying work many years before the 2016 campaign and election and before he was associated with the Trump campaign. Result: NOTHING to do with Russia campaign crimes.

The investigation of Papadopolous is complete. No one ever heard of this guy, but what he was charged with was a minor perjury trap lie about the timing of conversations he had with a professor and woman about potential meetings with the Trump campaign -- meetings that never took place. Result: NOTHING to do with Russia campaign crimes.

I believe the investigation of Flynn is complete. His crimes were rinky dink perjury trap lies relating to perfectly legal and routine conversations with the Russian ambassador AFTER THE ELECTION WAS OVER in his capacity as the incoming National Security Advisor. Result: NOTHING to do with Russia campaign crimes.

If the senior Transition Team officials (Kushner? McFarlan?) with whom Flynn spoke in December 2016 tell lies about their conversations with Flynn, then that would again just be rinky dink perjury trap stuff, regarding perfectly legal conduct AFTER the campaign and election were over. Result: NOTHING to do with Russia campaign crimes.

Yes, as JIT points out, minor charges against one person can be used to get the person to spill the goods on a bigger fish. But I don't see any evidence, or hint of evidence, that there are any criminal goods to spill. And who were bigger fish in the campaign than Manafort and Flynn? Nor do I see any possibility that Manafort, Papadopolous or Flynn have any information to spill on the firing of Comey, even assuming Mueller is investigating that, since all of them were long gone from the Trump orbit when Trump fired Comey.

The questions that the Flynn plea should raise are why did he plead guilty to lying and how would the FBI have known he was lying about the precise content of his conversations with Russian Ambassador Kislyak? Surely, Kislyak didn't talk to the FBI to give his version.

Andy McCarthy, who is the best legal columnist on this investigation, thinks it is obvious that Kislyak had been wire-tapped by the FBI. Therefore, the FBI knew the exact content of the Flynn-Kislyak phone calls. Finding no underlying criminal act, they baited Flynn into their perjury traps, simply to get something on him.

Even worse, it's possible that Flynn himself was wiretapped via FISA warrants obtained on the basis of the lurid and unsubstantiated Steele Dossier, which was paid for by the Clinton campaign and Democrat National Committee and which was given to the FBI by their paid agent (Fusion GPS). The Steele Dossier was ultimately derived from Kremlin sources, very likely in exchange for money, which would be a federal crime if traced to the Clinton campaign. There has been no public statement that Mueller is investigating these transactions, even though they seem to be directly related to the scope of his investigation. Congress is focusing on this.

Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb, seems confident that the Mueller investigation is winding down. He could be right. He also could be naive or incompetent.
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PostPosted: 12/02/17 5:05 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

GlennMacGrady wrote:
. First, Mueller's job is only to investigate and prosecute federal crimes. Second, the scope of his investigation is supposed to be crimes related to Russian interference with the campaign and election.



Isn't obstruction of justice with regard to Trump firing Comey part of it as well? Although that wouldn't take much of an investigation since Trump admits that he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation and that his firing "relieved a lot of pressure".


GlennMacGrady



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 7:49 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

justintyme wrote:
GlennMacGrady wrote:
Flynn is charged with one felony count of lying to the FBI. That one count encompasses four lies Flynn told about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Two lies relate to the content of conversations about sanctions, and two lies relate to the content of conversations about a U.N. Security Council vote concerning Israel.

None of these conversations was in any way illegal. Nor was the conduct that was conversed about. The only illegal thing Flynn did was to materially misstate (lie about) the content of the conversations to the FBI last January.

This also isn't technically true. He would have violated the Logan Act by being a private citizen and engaging in talks on behalf of the US without being authorized to do so by the government at the time.

Of course any conviction would likely be overturned since the act is generally considered unconstitutionally vague even though it has never been offically looked at by SCOTUS.

But as the laws currently stand, he and anyone who authorized him to do so committed a felony under current law.


No one has ever been prosecuted under the 1799 Logan Act, and hence it is unenforceable under the doctrine of desuetude. Even if it weren't, it would almost certainly be held unconstitutional today as a violation of the First Amendment. Presidential transition teams have historically begun communications with foreign nations before the presidential inauguration. For example, Reagan negotiated with the Iranians about the 400 hostages before he was sworn in. Carter has negotiated with several foreign governments after his presidency ended. Mueller knows all this, judges know all this, everyone knows -- so it would probably be unethical for Mueller to try to enforce the Logan Act.
pilight



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 7:53 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

If he didn't do anything illegal, why did he lie to the FBI about it? Surely he had a lawyer at least as good as the posters here to tell him he didn't need to.



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GlennMacGrady



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 7:57 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

tfan wrote:
GlennMacGrady wrote:
. First, Mueller's job is only to investigate and prosecute federal crimes. Second, the scope of his investigation is supposed to be crimes related to Russian interference with the campaign and election.



Isn't obstruction of justice with regard to Trump firing Comey part of it as well? Although that wouldn't take much of an investigation since Trump admits that he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation and that his firing "relieved a lot of pressure".


No one knows for sure whether Mueller has been authorized to investigate this. If he does, I'm not sure either what else there is to learn. We've heard from Trump, Comey, Rosenstein and Sessions about the firing. Rosenstein savaged Comey's performance and recommended his firing in a long memorandum. Rosenstein is Mueller's boss.

Trump fired Comey either because of the joint recommendation of Rosenstein/Sessions or because Comey wouldn't admit publicly that Trump wasn't part of the Russia investigation, which is Trump's absolute Constitutional right as the unitary head of the executive branch. Plus, how could the firing have obstructed the Russia investigation when Trump acquiesced in the appointment of the much more aggressive special counsel investigation.
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PostPosted: 12/02/17 7:59 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:
ABC's Brian Ross is reporting that Flynn made decision to plead guilty in the last 24 hours and is prepared to testify against POTUS and members of the Trump family.

@BrianRoss

CLARIFICATION of ABC News Special Report: Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians...


ABC News suspends Brian Ross for 4 weeks over erroneous Flynn story

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GlennMacGrady



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 8:45 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The Flynn plea deal highlights that there are competing theories in two key areas.

1. Why did Flynn get off with the equivalent of a jaywalking ticket?

One theory is that Mueller had big prosecutable crimes on Flynn but dropped it all down to lying to the FBI in exchange for dynamite incriminating evidence Flynn has on Trump. Almost the entire left wing (= major media = legal academia) champion this theory.

The competing theory is that Mueller charged Flynn with the only Russia-relevant stuff he had -- lies -- that Mueller couldn't prove any underlying crimes, and that Flynn is now useless as a prosecution witness before a jury because he has been officially branded as a liar. Professor Alan Dershowitz and I believe this theory.

2. Is Kushner the next domino or the preceding domino?

We'll assume that Kushner is the "very senior official" of the Trump Transition Team who directed Flynn to talk to other countries, including Russia, about the U.N. vote on Israeli settlements and who further discussed the matter with Flynn. The left wing favors the theory that Flynn has stuff on Kushner and that Mueller will use Flynn to topple the Kushner domino into some sort of crime.

The competing theory rests significantly on the fact that Kushner had already been interviewed by Mueller before the Flynn deal was made. This theory, which I prefer, is that Kushner was the preceding domino that toppled Flynn. In other words, Mueller confirmed Flynn's lies about what was said in his meetings with Kislyak because Kushner knew all about those meetings from Flynn, knew exactly what was said, and told the truth about it to Mueller. Therefore, Kushner was the torpedo that sunk Flynn's ship, and hence Flynn won't be sinking Kushner.

I always keep in mind, and it affects my perspective on the Russia investigation, that Trump, his family and staff were complete political novices. They were political and policy amateurs -- people (mostly young) whose entire lives revolved around real estate, hotels, TV shows, beauty contests, modeling, and local newspaper ownership -- who weren't part of the American political scene, much less any foreign political scene. Trump had no advisors, no generals, no intelligence contacts, nothing. He was in no position to have influential contacts within the Russian government.

The two biggest fish in or around Trump's campaign who were known to have had substantial business contacts with Russia or former Soviet satellites were Manafort and Flynn. They were the obvious targets for the most extensive investigation. The investigations of both seem to be over, with no underlying Russia/campaign crimes being charged to either of them. I believe this is the basis of Ty Cobb's optimism that the investigation is winding down.
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PostPosted: 12/02/17 9:19 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

pilight wrote:
If he didn't do anything illegal, why did he lie to the FBI about it? Surely he had a lawyer at least as good as the posters here to tell him he didn't need to.


Good question.

Flynn voluntarily accepted an FBI interview on January 24, 2017. It's not clear to me he had a lawyer at that time to advise him. That would take some research.

Comey told Congress that based on his investigation so far he didn't believe Flynn lied, that Flynn was just confused, as the new NatSec advisor in the busy first week after the inauguration, about what exactly he had talked about a month earlier to Kislyak.

One possibility is that Flynn did not consciously lie. He told the story about Kislyak as he remembered it. What could have happened later, with Mueller's team, is that Flynn was presented with documents, wiretap recordings, or testimony from people like Kushner and McFarland, which were clearly inconsistent with his memory. Faced with this irrefutable evidence, he had to admit that he hadn't told the truth.

Alternatively, assuming no legal counsel, Flynn may have had a layman's fear of the Logan Act or of the word "collusion" that the political world was throwing around without definition (and still is). Especially being somewhat of a loose cannon risk taker, he decided to be misleading, minimizing or having selective memory. And maybe he expected Trump to protect him.

It is a mystery why he lied to the FBI. The next month, he lied to the Vice President about the same meeting. At least he was consistent.
GlennMacGrady



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PostPosted: 12/02/17 11:39 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

GlennMacGrady wrote:
justintyme wrote:
GlennMacGrady wrote:
Flynn is charged with one felony count of lying to the FBI. That one count encompasses four lies Flynn told about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Two lies relate to the content of conversations about sanctions, and two lies relate to the content of conversations about a U.N. Security Council vote concerning Israel.

None of these conversations was in any way illegal. Nor was the conduct that was conversed about. The only illegal thing Flynn did was to materially misstate (lie about) the content of the conversations to the FBI last January.

This also isn't technically true. He would have violated the Logan Act by being a private citizen and engaging in talks on behalf of the US without being authorized to do so by the government at the time.

Of course any conviction would likely be overturned since the act is generally considered unconstitutionally vague even though it has never been offically looked at by SCOTUS.

But as the laws currently stand, he and anyone who authorized him to do so committed a felony under current law.


No one has ever been prosecuted under the 1799 Logan Act, and hence it is unenforceable under the doctrine of desuetude. Even if it weren't, it would almost certainly be held unconstitutional today as a violation of the First Amendment. Presidential transition teams have historically begun communications with foreign nations before the presidential inauguration. For example, Reagan negotiated with the Iranians about the 400 hostages before he was sworn in. Carter has negotiated with several foreign governments after his presidency ended. Mueller knows all this, judges know all this, everyone knows -- so it would probably be unethical for Mueller to try to enforce the Logan Act.


VIDEO PROOF: Obama Admin Confirms ‘No Problem’ With General Flynn Contacting Foreign Officials

Quote:
Footage has resurfaced of Obama State Department spokesman Mark Toner saying Flynn contacting foreign governments during the transition poses no issues.
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