Criminal law, Media, Politics

Flynn in 2016: “When You Are Given Immunity, It Means That You Probably Committed A Crime”

Today I discussed how people should not assume that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has committed a crime or is turning on President Trump because his lawyer is seeking an immunity deal.  Lawyers often seek immunity as an added protection, particularly in cases with powerful political interests.  Moreover, some immunity deals are based on a witnesses information and not necessarily a witness’ culpability.  It would seem that one person who would have to be convinced of that fact is Flynn himself.  Flynn is shown below in 2016 saying that if someone gets immunity it probably means that you committed a crime.

 Flynn made the statement in an interview  on “Meet the Press” last September. In speaking of the Clinton email scandal, Flynn said, “when you are given immunity, that means you probably committed a crime.”

Fortunately for Flynn, that is not true and he will hopefully be given a more informed consideration from others in the current controversies.

 

 

While President Trump has support Flynn in his request for immunity, he once espoused the same assumptions over immunity:

61 thoughts on “Flynn in 2016: “When You Are Given Immunity, It Means That You Probably Committed A Crime””

  2. BO set the stage for all of this when he started campaigning. He lied continuously. He made rediculus statements that were sucked up by the dupes of America. He blamed relentlessly. BO created a mob mentality which allows for this behavior to go unchecked. There has always been corruption and hypocrisy in politics and probably always will be. However,there has never been so much, so.consistently, to such a degree as this. When nothing but lies, nepotism, and BS comes from an administration, then that is what becomes the norm and guys like Holder, Jarrett, etc become the new normal, accepted by the hopeless America that lives under the illusion that it is a democracy, and championed by whomever it benefits, Time to wake up.

  5. Ohhhhh…that’s unfortunate. That statement is going to haunt him.

    1. Nice….I’m going for a walk in the woods. Who knows, maybe I’ll run into Hillary 😉

      2. I plan on spending the weekend cataloging all of the leaks/conjecture/ speculation about all ongoing and future investigations.
        Then getting updated on any breaking news, speculation, etc. presented by the 24/7 news cycle/ rumor mill.
        If I have time, I’ll take a break to walk and wander far into the deep weeds.

          1. Paul Schulte…
            – Maybe so, but the alternative ( waiting for the investigations to conclude and present their findings)
            is unthinkable.😊
            There’d be massive unemployment in the media during the months or years that these investigations drag on.
            In the meantime, the deep weeds grow higher.

            1. tnash – I was rather hoping for complete unemployment in the MSM. 🙂

  7. Because that is YOUR opinion. It’s not mine. But you get to have your opinion and be right because you said so. You’re right. Have a nice day.

  8. DDT set the stage for all this when he started campaigning. He lied continuously. He made ridiculous statements that were sucked up by the dupes of America. He blamed relentlessly. DDT created a mob mentality which allows for this behavior to go unchecked. There has always been corruption and hypocrisy in politics and probably always will be. However, there has never been so much, so consistently, and to such a degree as this. When nothing but lies, nepotism, and BS comes from an administration, then that is what becomes the norm and guys like Flynn, Bannon, etc become the new normal, accepted by the hopeless America that lives under the illusion that it is a democracy, and championed by whomever it benefits. Time to wake up.

    2. Trump is fighting the establishment, the oligarchy, the deep state, the left stream media – all of it. He’s not owned by lobbyists or special interests. He’s not perfect and he’s making some mistakes, but overall I believe he is doing what he’s doing to help America and working class families. I believe he truly wants to help people in this country. I never believed Obama was doing anything to help average Americans – or even the black community. We all know Hillary Clinton is in it for Hillary Clinton. So there’s a lot to do. There are many sides to every issue. It’s not easy. Trump is doing it his way. It’s gonna be messy. But I am still willing to give Trump a chance to see what he can do to change Washington for the better. And I believe he will be successful. I also believe he is far more popular than the polls and the media report. You get to have your opinion. But I’m getting sick of being called disparaging names as if your judgment is superior to mine. It isn’t. You have your opinion. You know what you believe. And that’s all you know.

      1. Trump is owned by Russian oligarchs and the billlionaire Mercer family and is also an oligarch himself. He could give a rat’s ass about American people.

      3. Opinions are like that special orifice given out one to a customer. However, some things surface when one steps back. The reality that is Trump, or DDT, is not someone who has spent his career working for and/or addressing the majority or the for 90% for that matter. Anyone who aspires must have the ego sized to those aspirations. That is fact, pure and simple. So, Obama, Clinton, and all who have stepped up to the plate have those egos that tell them that they have the solutions to the problems.

        DDT has, by far, the most voluminous and out of control ego of anyone. If you cannot accept that, then you simply have not been paying attention. He was born out of the greatest ego of all, royalty American style, the self made man. But, DDT was not the self made man; only the prince. The prince has spent his entire adult life trying to convince those around him that he is a self made man, a man of the people, a man that can do no wrong, a stud, etc. His conveyance has been the top few percent of the world’s population regardless of country, morality, or other values. DDT made his billions off of the millions from his father, the connections from his father, and the investments and lifestyles of the top one percent. DDT has had nothing to do with the ‘people’ other than to entertain them with his antics. All politicians have the oversized ego. Some are born rich. DDT is the first to be so devoid of any of the qualities he predecessors had. Give him a chance and then we pick up the pieces like after Bush and his terrific experiment. Obama, in context was the greatest President in many decades, far greater than Reagan who left a mess.

        1. Keep swinging Sir Isaac. I respect your opinion. However….you speak of reality and facts that do not look like the facts and reality I am seeing.

          I knew that Hillary was NEVER going to be president. And I knew Trump would win. Did you?

          Our choice was between Trump and Clinton. I chose Trump. It would have been between Sanders and Trump if the DNC had not conspired, colluded and cheated to give their girl Hillary the nomination. We have zero proof of Trump colluding with the Russians, but we have actual evidence of DNC collusion to steal the election for Hillary.

          I’m dealing in the reality that Trump IS our president. Not Hillary. Not anyone else. Trump is it.

          You talk about Trump’s ego and you forget to talk about charisma. Trump has charisma. And he connected with the people. How do you explain the millions of blue collar Democrats, Independents and women who voted for Trump and turned their backs on Hillary?

          Hillary has no charisma. She did not connect with the people. She is corrupt to the core, inept, ineffective, incompetent. It was not Russia that caused her to lose. It was not Russia that caused Trump to win.

          How about consumer confidence being at its highest level in 30 years since Trump has been in office?

          You are mired in the pessimism of the teleprompter-reading left-stream media who serve as the propaganda arm of the Democrats. I am paying attention to Trump and the air of optimism he is showing the country.

          The rest of you can join the new scummy DNC head Tom Perez and his “leadership” that actually sounds like this: “Donald Trump didn’t win, Hillary did! Republicans don’t give a sh*t about people.” Yeah, I’ll get behind that crap. Not. Keep it up Dems and say hello to a Republican Supermajority in 2018.

          We know Hillary and her team were guilty of a stack of felonies a mile high. We KNOW the Clintons brokered a sale of Uranium to Russia. We KNOW Bill Clinton got $500k for a speech in Russia while his wife was Secy of State. We KNOW John Podesta and his brother received millions in lobbying fees from Russia while advising both Hillary and Obama. Where are the Congressional investigations into this? Where was the FBI? The DOJ?

          We know from the Podesta emails that the MSM conspired and colluded to get Hillary elected. We know Hillary’s campaign blew over one BILLION dollars. All of this and Hillary STILL lost. And all we hear is….but, but….The Russians!!

          You say Obama was one of the greatest presidents? For who? Himself? How do you explain that after 8 years of Obama the Democrats lost 900 state legislature seats, 12 Governorships, 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats and the White House?

          Obama didn’t help the country. He didn’t help the American people. He didn’t help the black community. He didn’t help the military. He didn’t help the economy. He didn’t help the Democrat party. Though, I will admit that Obama sure knew how to throw a party at the White House for all of his Hollywood, music industry, pro athlete and celebrity pals.

          The Obama economy was the worst of any president since WW2. He doubled the national debt. He rammed Obamacare down peoples throats. He empowered Iran. He created chaos in Syria, Libya, Yemen. He has been at war every single day of his presidency.

          He went after the press. He fomented race riots in our cities. He turned blacks against whites, hispanics against blacks, blacks against cops. He created an atmosphere of identity politics all the time. He divided the nation into victimized groups and pitted them all against each other -and the Republican party- through his identity-politics-all-the-time divisiveness that he called ‘leading from behind.’

          It is now clear that Obama and his admin surveilled Trump and his team and then illegally leaked the information to the media which is a serious abuse of power and a felony.

          Yeah, let’s talk about facts and reality. Like I said, I am willing to give Trump a chance to see what he can do to change for the better the corrupt swamp that is Washington, DC. I know what I know. I’m not so sure you have an actual clue.

  10. Although Flynn’s immunity was rejected, it is still a possibility.

  11. OT but important:

    Used to be killer Tuesdays determined who got droned. Now its an algorithm! Justice has really advanced far in the US!

    Two journalists are suing President Trump and other top U.S. officials, claiming that they are on the government’s “kill list” of individuals targeted for drone strikes, Politico reported Thursday.

    The journalists, former Al Jazeera Islamabad bureau chief Ahmad Zaidan and freelance journalist Bilal Kareem, say in the lawsuit that they were placed on the “kill list” by the Obama administration, a decision maintained by the Trump White House.

    Kareem claims he has nearly died in five separate airstrikes over the year, while Zaidan, who has reported extensively on al Qaeda and interviewed the terrorist group’s now-deceased leader, Osama bin Laden, multiple times, says he is on the “kill list” because he was improperly designated as a member of the group, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood.

    The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday and lists Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis, CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Jeff Sessions among the defendants, as well as several other high-ranking officials.
    Both Zaidan, a Pakistani and Syrian citizen, and Kareem, a U.S. citizen, deny having any affiliation with terrorist groups and say that their designations on the “kill list” are the results of “algorithms” used to identify terrorists.

    But those algorithms are flawed, they argue, and the designations are based on their travel, social media content and communications related to their professions.

    http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/326676-journalists-sue-trump-top-admin-officials-over-kill-list

  12. I follow your logic, but it seems different when his lawyer says that “General Flynn certainly has a story to tell.”
    This doesn’t seem like the routine immunity request that you mention above.

  13. He made a probabalistic statement, not a categorical one. This is not that difficult.

    1. Desperate, My thoughts exactly. “Probably” being the key word that most seem to be ignoring. All we know for certain is Flynn was unmasked in NSA surveillance and that is a felony. We KNOW he’s a victim in that regard. He may well be shown to be a criminal, and if so then prosecute him. But, unless anyone has any info not in the public record, the man is a victim of Obama petty retaliation. The hatred between Obama and Flynn predates Trump. Flynn stood up to the fatherless Obama, who has a problem w/ real men, being a girly man himself.

      2. “…problem with real men,…”

        Is anyone bothering to keep count how often the no true scotsman fallacy shows up in these discussions?

  14. If you can’t get immunity, you can always invoke the Fifth Amendment like Obama IRS Director Lois Lerner.
    But of course unlike Lerner there’s no indication that Flynn did anything wrong.

  15. Flynn is well known for having a poor grip on reality, rather like many commenters here.

  16. For most the best course of action is to wait and see what happens rather than swirling around in a vortex of suspicion and getting sucked in.

  17. Mr. Flynn is a shining example of what Washington politics does to integrity.

    While a U.S. Army officer, he was presumably inculcated with the notions of honor and integrity.

    In the few months that I have seen Mr. Flynn in the public eye, his name has been associated with mendacity, dishonesty and dishonor.

    The poor judgment that he has repeatedly displayed is just stupidity.

    1. Just a side check on that point. As cadets they are taught “will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do.” Upon donning an ensign or second lieutenants butter bar and taking the Constitutional Oath of Office what disappears first and how long does it take? The anseer is …walk down any company size unit street and count the number of 100% this and that signs on the orderly room front lawn. Then ask how the money was really raised.

      Strong Arming, Protection Racket, Rico level conspiracy….are three that come to mind readily.

      1. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/hoist-by-your-own-petard.html

        “The phrase ‘hoist with one’s own petard’ is often cited as ‘hoist by one’s own petard’. In the USA, ‘hoisted’ is preferred so the alternative forms there are ‘hoisted with one’s own petard’ is often cited as ‘hoisted by one’s own petard’.All the variants mean the same thing, although the ‘with’ form is strictly a more accurate version of the original source.”

  19. Unless he’s got some physical evidence to support what he will testify to, then I do not see this moving the ball one way or another.

    1. He’ll follow Trump’s lead: Make unsubstantiated claims that distract and then call for further investigations, coasting along unaccountably as the years pass.

      1. Perhaps you should testify Dave, as you seem to know exactly what he’ll do. I know, I know, you are simply laying the foundation to discredit anything he might say that would reflect negatively on anyone not named Donald Trump.

        I can handle the truth, can you? No matter where it leads?

        1. Did Comey’s FBI follow the “truth” no matter where it led in the Hillary server/email investigations? Not even close. Wiping servers clean with Bleach Bit? Asking on Reddit how to delete emails already under subpoena? Comey couldn’t even defend granting immunity to Cheryl Mills. It was all a farce. The Clinton’s played their usual game of political maneuvering and deal making to escape charges and prosecution. Guilty as hell, free as a bird, God bless America. It had little to do with seeking “justice” or “the truth.”

          Comey has been compromised and the FBI has become politicized.

          Of course Flynn should protect himself before testifying.

          1. Maybe Comey will let Trump go free, too. He could always say that he did not intend to collude with the Russians. Comey politicized the FBI when he discussed the Clinton case in press conferences. He wanted to write an editorial about Trump but Lynch and a group of Obama staff stopped him. I will bet the Clinton people are mad as hell about that.

            2. Anon….
              I don’t think that’s Comey’s style.
              If he obtains and reveals incriminating evidence against Flynn, he’ll then explain why “no reasonable prosecutor” would act on that evidence.

          2. I believe Harry Reid set the “truth” bar so low that it’s nearly impossible for blatant liars to be held to account. Reid lied about Romney’s taxes prior to the 2012 election to secure the win for Obama and then admitted he didn’t regret it at all saying, “Romney didn’t win did he?” So there you have it; a blatant lie on the floor of the Senate with nary a repercussion. Unless, one considers the disastrous results for the Democrats this past November are the “ends” of those lying “means”.

          4. Bob,…
            Cheryl Mills also claimed attorney-client privilege to stonewall the investigation.
            There is a good LawNewz article by Chris White (Sept. 5, 2016) that covers the “many hats” Cheryl Mills wore.

            1. “Lawyer loses Whitewater notes to car buglar”.-
              LA TIMES, JULY 15, 1995
              Long before the State Dept. emails disappeared, Ms. Mills “lost” her documents related to the Whitewater investigation.

              1. Brings back memories of the ‘good’ old scandal-filled days of the Clinton admin. The Clinton machine does have their loyalists. I always liked Mike McCurry, though, and I’d love to hear his ‘non-partisan’ take on things going on today….

    1. Totally. The Pizza Hut spokesman’s Administration has been a beacon of rationality thus far.

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