While the headlines have been occupied with the Epstein matter and the other news, there is something curious happening in federal court with Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser. Flynn was just listed as an unindicted co-conspirator by the Justice Department. That itself is odd since Flynn is a cooperating witness facing sentencing before a fairly hostile federal judge. Nevertheless, Flynn now says that the government was trying to get him to give false evidence in the the trial of a former business partner, Bijan Kian, who is accused of violating foreign lobbying disclosure laws. The move by Flynn (following his replacement of counsel) could indicate an “all in” position for a pardon.
Kian was indicted last year in federal court in Alexandria, Va. with Ekim Alptekin, as part of a federal investigation into Turkey’s secret 2016 lobbying campaign for Turkey. Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan is obsessed with a Turkish cleric living in the United States and wants him handed over for likely torture and execution. Flynn was reportedly one of the people willing to discuss the effort, which hardly speaks well of him or his values. Flynn’s firm — Flynn Intel Group — received a total of $530,000 for its work.
However, now Flynn insists that the testimony that the Justice Department expected from him would have been false. In response, the Justice Department listed him as a coconspirator. That will now weigh against him on sentencing before Judge Emmet Sullivan who held a rather strange hearing on Flynn’s sentencing.
Flynn dumped his legal team last month. That team had secured the cooperation agreement. He shifted representation to Sidney Powell, who is viewed as a strong supporter of President Trump and a critic of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The move was viewed by many of us as a shift toward a full pardon strategy. The last hearing before Sullivan may have left Flynn angry and frustrated. Even the Justice Department seemed taken aback by Sullivan’s courtroom statements, including mistaken views of the record. He may now be willing to risk a longer sentence in favor of currying favor with Trump by confronting the prosecutors.
Notably, Flynn’s new legal team has directly attacked David Laufman, the former counterintelligence chief at the Justice Department’s National Security Division. They said accuse Laufman of coercing Flynn to submit false statements.
Flynn’s plea deal includes an agreement to cooperate. It does NOT include an agreement to lie under oath.
To claim that Flynn has violated his agreement you would have to establish that the testimony Flynn has refused to give would have been the Truth.
Some folks like to wag their tongues about “process crimes” — as if they’re insignificant, for the most part.
“Not Mere “Process Crimes,” False Statements Prosecutions Are Serious”
https://www.justsecurity.org/61969/mere-process-crimes-false-statements-prosecutions/
Excerpt:
To those who work in the criminal justice system, crimes based on lying are very serious, and for good reason.
First, lies impede an investigator’s quest for the truth. Our system of justice requires witnesses to tell the truth not just under oath on the witness stand, but also in their unsworn statements to law enforcement agents during investigations. When witnesses make false statements, the lies send investigators in the wrong direction, prevent them from confirming facts, and prolong or even derail the investigation. Anyone who complains about the duration of the special counsel’s investigation should be reminded that Mueller has charged 35 defendants in 18 months, despite proven lies by six key witnesses.
False statements offenses are charged in cases involving violent gangs, drug trafficking organizations, white collar crime, police corruption and, every other kind of case where people lie to protect themselves and others in their criminal organizations. In part these prosecutions hold accountable those who make it harder to solve crimes, and in part they deter others who might be tempted to do so. Imagine if there were no penalty for telling a lie – why would a witness to crimes by friends or associates ever tell an FBI agent the truth?
Second, in the context of counterintelligence investigations, lies can also compromise national security. Recall the congressional testimony of former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who explained the significance of Michael Flynn’s lies. While serving as the National Security Advisor, Flynn had lied about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Yates and the FBI knew that public statements about Flynn’s conversations contradicted what Flynn had actually said. As Yates testified, “To state the obvious, you don’t want your national security adviser compromised with the Russians.” A foreign adversary like Russia can use lies as leverage over government officials to coerce them into complying with its demands or else face exposure of the lies. For this reason, one of the questions that is asked during a background investigation for a security clearance is whether any matter in the person’s past could be used to blackmail him.
Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, has now pleaded guilty to lying to the Senate intelligence committee about negotiations with Russia to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Court documents indicate that Cohen discussed these negotiations with Trump and Trump’s family members, despite Trump’s public statements that he had nothing to do with Russia. If Cohen’s statements are accurate, they suggest that Trump and some of his family members may also be compromised with Russia to the peril of our national security.
Third, people lie even though they know that they are risking criminal penalties because telling the truth is worse. Prosecutors use evidence of lying as what is known as “consciousness of guilt.” The theory is that a person needs to lie only when he knows that the truth will get him into trouble. Cohen admitted that he lied to the Senate committee to “minimize links between the Moscow Project and Individual 1,” whom Cohen admitted is Trump.
What is it that all of these defendants close to Trump are lying to cover up? As Trump has tweeted, it is not a crime that he “lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia.” So why would Cohen lie about it and risk criminal penalty? Two facts make it reasonable to infer that his secret relates to the core of Mueller’s mission to investigate links between the Trump campaign and Russian efforts to interfere with the election. First, an essential element of false statements is that the matter be “material” to the investigation. Innocent statements about a real estate development alone would not be material to the investigation into election interference. Charging this particular lie suggests that the Moscow Project relates somehow to election interference. In addition, to date, Mueller has handed off cases to U.S. Attorney’s offices that are not related to his core mission. The fact that he kept this one suggests that Cohen’s truthful statements are advancing the investigation into election interference. The cover-up may not be worse than the crime, but the cover-up raises suspicions that there is a crime.
It may be hard for political actors to understand why lies are so offensive to investigators and judges. While the truth always matters, politicians may exaggerate or engage in hyperbole or spin. But when people speak in the criminal justice system, the lies have consequences. (end excerpt)
This is crap and you should know it.
The 302’s for the Flynn interview say he was truthful.
The Agents interviewing him KNEW about his conjversation with Kislyank BEFORE the interview – even SCOTUS has said you can not charge !8 USC 1001 when they KNOW the answers to the questions.
YOUR cite notes that there must be Deception – the agents must be mislead.
When they can not be., all you are dealing with is entrapment.
If lying to the FBI when the FBI knows you are lying is a crime – then Clinton and her staff should be in levenworth. Even Comey was not prepared to charge Flynn. And it took Mueller almost a year to roll this the other way.
Yate’s claim is crap. Does one have to abandon logic to be a democrat ?
Kislyak can not have known that Flynn misrepresented their conversation to anyone.
Nor can you reasonably presume that you can blackmail someone over something that they can just resign over – which is what Flynn did.
Next we are pretty sure that the FBI wiretapped Flynn – not Kislyak. That means there MUST be a FISA warrant for Flynn that we have not as of yet heard of.
Can you tell me the basis of a FISA warrant for Flynn ?
It appears that YATES is the actual criminal here – engaged in spying on a political basis. Flynn was a former DNI he kept the FBI updated about ALL his foreign contacts, in fact he was breiefed before and debriefed after each. He was not collabotating against the US he was spying FOR the US.
The Obama mob was after Flynn MORE than Trump, because they KNEW he was going to undo the Iran deal AND because they KNEW he was a vigorous opponent of this misdirected use of intelligence resources. He was fired by Obama as DNI over disagreemnts in the way intelligence was being gathered.
If you actually think that the government actions targeting Flynn – and Page and Papadoulus and … were acceptable – then you had better expect them to be used against your freinds as well as your enemies.
John Kerry has had repeated meetings with Iran’s Mullahs during the Trump administration, this is exactly the same as the assorted contacts that Mueller has noted regarding the Trump campaign EXCEPT the Kerry meetings actually occured, and we can be pretty sure that Kerry was actively aiding the Mullah’s in circumventing the policy of this administration. Iran is FAR more our “enemy” than Russia – they are actually funding terrorists to fight american soldiers and kill americans. While it would be stupid for a nation that values individual freedom to call that a crime or even Treason, Unlike the crap involving Trump or Flynn – every element of Treason is MET.
The easiest way to tell all this crap regarding Trump and his people is BS, is that no one would be stupid enough investigate, much less prosecute the same conduct that HAS occured with democrats.
But if you really want “new rules”
Then what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Joe Biden was conducting US foreign policy AS VICE PRESIDENT for the personal benefit of relatives – both securing lucrative deals and avoiding prosecution for crimes.
What? Where was the link?
Flynn tried to warn about Clintons and child sex too.He was the head of intelligence and they were spying on everyone.
It has been reported that the FBI agents who met with Flynn at the White House felt that he had not lied. If that’s true he should be pardoned.
RSA,
Peter Strzok and another FBI agent were the ones who interviewed Flynn. Flynn was described as “relaxed and unguarded’ during that interview, although he probably had no way of knowing what Strzok was all about
An FBI summary of interviews….a 502? report….is supposed to be completed almost immediately after conducting an interview.
I think it was in the Flynn case when the “contemporaneous” summary was done at least a 6 months after the FBI interviewed Flynn.
Apparent discrepancies within the 302 documents are being questioned by may former senior FBI officials, who state that there are stringent policies in place to ensure that the documents are guarded against tampering.
On Thursday, FBI Supervisory Agent Jeff Danik told SaraACarter.com that Sullivan must also request all the communications between the two agents, as well as their supervisors around the August 2017 time-frame in order to get a complete and accurate picture of what transpired. Danik, who is an expert in FBI policy, says it is imperative that Sullivan also request “the workflow chart, which would show one-hundred percent, when the 302s were created when they were sent to a supervisor and who approved them.”

He stressed, “the bureau policy – the absolute FBI policy – is that the notes must be placed in the system in a 1-A file within five days of the interview.” Danik said that the handwritten notes get placed into the FBI Sentinel System, which is the FBI’s main record keeping system.
“Anything beyond five business days is a problem, eight months is a disaster,” he added.
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Should be a “302 Report”, not a “502” as I said earlier.
Further you can not make a 18US1001 prosecution when the agents know the truth of the question that they are asking.
The constitution forbids entrapment. While law enforcement can lie to you and use any lies you tell against you as part of prosecution for ANOTHER crime, They can not manufacture crimes. To be a crime a lie to an agent must ACTUALLY mislead the investigation.
Judge Emmet Sullivan was a groomed federal judge practically out of the cradle. Educated at Howard University in the District, he matriculated to its law school and followed its dean into private practice after clerking for a DC Superior Court judge. He never was awakened by a DI at 4:30 am, heard bullets whiz by or physically defended anything beyond his lunch from flies. Flynn, on the other hand, for all his flaws deployed in defense of his country in Grenada , Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. One of nine siblings in a modestly middle class Roman Catholic family, Flynn had no primed career path attending Rhode Island and then Golden Gate University. Despite his inauspicious beginnings he rose to the rank of Lt. General with posts at the elite 82nd airborne and then on to lead America’s counter-terrorism effort. Judge Emmet lecturing General Flynn about patriotism is like Jeffrey Epstein giving dating advice.
Mespo,
Some people know what it looks like as a nation descends into just another 3rd world shiithole.
Stuff like attack & remove good guys, pull down the history of the past that lead to greatness, ban business that support good govt, & allow death threats in direct violation CDA sec 230, pull free speech, attempt to grab everyone’s guns, etc….
And as any invading army would do, Attempt to Capture their enemies ( Betsy Ross, the abolitionist) Flag.
I’m reminded of one of the millions of stories that came out of Bush/Cheney’s, deep state 911.
https://www.infowars.com/evidence-indicates-michael-hastings-was-assassinated/
Exactly right.
Mespo, Et Al.
It’s like wow, I wish I was younger, but, real history that matters is coming at us all fast & furious.
As I recall it is believe that Flynn was targeted by Obama/Hillary/McCain/Deep State because Flynn likely had a hand in getting the US military to go public, in uniform & a place card over their faces, saying things like: I didn’t sign up to be Al Queada’s air force.
It did stop cold there 1st attempt to illegal invade Syria.
Obama/Hillary/McCain/Deep State just waited a few months & renamed their Islamic Nut Jobs from Al Queada to Isis.
That and the fact Flynn’s on record hating all those Islamic Pedo nut jobs, the Deep State had to silence him so as to not stop the Deep State’s invasion forces.
And all can see the results of that Islamic invasion force if one looks at the whole case of Tommy Robinson of the UK.
That’s already here in the US also.
There’s more coming to the public. NY State passed a state law this week saying they can make politicians taxes public in an attempt get to Trumps tax returns.
Phk’in Idiots! If I understand it correctly… Now that means all of New York State politicians will be subject to the same law.
Ok, Sen Chunky Schumer, turn them over! Crazy Eyes, turn them Over!!! LOL;)
The real reason for going after Flynn is that, as head of the DIA in 2012, he put out a secret(later released under FOIA) report saying that it was the goal of the US and other supporting powers to establish a salafist principality in eastern Syria to help overthrow Assad…we supported the rise of ISIS.
Just to keep it honest. What are your sources and please put the FOIA document in the blog.
Mespo, Et Al:
Everyone has opinions & not suggesting one way or the other, but this guy below put this piece out like he does for free again.
I know him from Greg Hunter’s site.
I’m just reposting it. It’s about 10 min.
The smearing of Flynn is one of the most despicable aspects of this.
Flynn provided a character reference for an FBI agent who accused McCabe of sexual harrassment.
Flynn resigned as DNI in the obama administration because he was at odds with the administration over Iran and over the focus of intelligence gathering.
WE KNOW that far outside of Trump/Flynn that the Obama administration was criminally misusing FISA warrants. Thousands were granted based on crap, and improper and unconstitutional foundations. We know that the Obama administration was spying on Congess, and on journalists.
And somehow the “scandal” is that improper spying on Trump found that Trump was NOT “colluding” with the Russians, and that there never was sufficient basis for an investigation.
Many of us still do not understand what Flynn’s “lie” was.
Flynn did NOT talk to Kislyak about Sanctions – though as incoming NSA such a conversation would have been appropriate. Kislyak raised sanctions with Flynn and Flynn postponed any discussion of sanctions until after Trump took office.
There was nothing wrong with Flynn’s conversations.
There is also nothing wrong with Flynn saying “I did not talk to Kislyak about sanctions” based on that conversation.
If we are going to prosecute people for “lying” then we need to have actual “lies”.
Obfuscation is, at best, a temporary fix.
Deception – counter-deception. Intelligence – counter-intelligence. Propaganda – indoctrination.
___________________________________________________________________________
“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
– William Casey, CIA Director 1981-1987
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Whatever is an abused and mistreated; dazed and confused “deep deep state” supposed to do? The onion is being peeled back and the vermin given no quarter. The “swamp” is rapidly desiccating; a cornered animal.
Good to see Flynn finally found his inner lion amid all that outer wool.
There is more to the story than the professor is sharing here. There was potential manipulation of a FARA document that the FBI got Flynn to sign. And then they wanted to say it had false information on it. Search out more sources for information on this story.
“Trenga issued the 38-page scathing opinion in the late afternoon Tuesday that the “United States at this point has not presented or proffered evidence to sufficient to establish by a preponderance of the evidence a conspiracy for the purposes of admitting against the Defendant the hearsay statements of alleged co-conspirators.”
So you approve of a retired American military General using his considerable influence to help a foreign leader torture and murder political enemies in exchange for mammon?
So just like Obama then?
Find a new mantra preferably one that rings true.
You do not seem to be able to distinguish between an allegation and a fact.
I am not aware of facts establishing your allegation.
Though I am aware of myriads of instances of the conduct you describe being undertaken by our government.
I do not approve or vice presidents using their considerable influence to secure foreign jobs for their relatives, or to ensure their relatives are not prosecuted for foreign crimes.
I do not approve of the IRS targeting groups because of their political views.
When an IRS agent pleads the fifth for actions taken as an agent – then there is a huge problem.
Democrats are bemoaning government agencies disregard of congressional subpeona’s – where were they when the house subpeoned information on Fast and Furious or IRSgate, or Benghazi ? Or from DOJ/FBI/State regarding the Trump investigation ?
Generally I think that government should be allowed few secrets from the people, and even fewer from congress. Though grand jury material would be one of those.
I do not approve of the FBI/CIA/NSA/State/DOJ using the work product of ANY political campaign as a basis for a criminal investigation without THOROUGHLY verifying it first. In fact I do not approve of any of the same using mere allegations by anyone without verifying them first. Your neighbor calling you a Peodophile should not be sufficient basis for a warrant to tear your home, your life apart.
I do not approve or former Sec. States, conducting unauthorized diplomacy with regimes that sponsor terrorism.
I do not approve of former presidents getting half a million for speaking to nations that his wife and presidential candidate is calling our enemy.
I have lots of problems here – Flynn is pretty close to the bottom of those.
Flynn is a flying Finn from Finland.
No, he’s Irish and he’s “in like Flynn” Gonna get a pardon from Trump and DOJ can stuff it! 😹😹😹
“Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,” Schumer told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
That is a true statement for Mike Flynn along with Trump who that statement was referring to Presently it seems Mike Flynn is being asked to lie. So far I can’t figure out what crime Mike Flynn committed other than a process crime and even there I am not sure.
Hopefully the abcess of the Obama Administration is coming to the surface and can soon be drained,
What exactly is a “process crime”? Is it a misdemeanor or a felony?
It means zero evidence of Russian collusion or conspiracy.
Showing a picture of Flynn in his uniform is a travesty. He has dishonored the uniform.
He has not. There is way more to the story than you know.
I believe this all started because Flynn knew too much about the Obama admin shenanigans in regards to Iran and Crossfire Hurricane. They needed to shut him up. And they have succeeded. How many times have the deferred sentencing him? There’s a reason for that.
Wipam, I posted an article on “Flynn knew too much…” No one commented but it is good to hear someone post on the subject. Take note how easily Holmes can dispose of decades of service by Flynn without knowing very much about what is going on. It shows that Holmes is very shallow and doesn’t have enough worth to wear Flynn’s old underwear.
you of course have proof of that with sources and cites? One thing I learned in the military never trust a civilian employee of the government and never trust those win uniform who are in the rear echelons
By doing What ?
Every accusation against Flynn has real world parallels in the conduct of others that we call heroes.
Whether an action is honorable or not does NOT depend on your politics.
If you think it does – then YOU are the one without honor.
Totally wrong take on this.