The Never Ending Michael Flynn Saga

The New York Times reported last night that the Trump transition team knew Michael Flynn was under federal investigation before he was hired as National Security Adviser.

Also today, McClatchy DC reported that, a few weeks prior to Trump's inauguration, Flynn torpedoed a military operation that would have involved Kurdish troops helping in an effort to retake Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State in Syria, from ISIS.

These two reports provide further evidence of how dangerously compromised Flynn was, and how reckless the Trump administration was in dealing with him. Let's go back and retrace the story of Michael Flynn, a story that shows us how the Trump administration operates and the kind of people Donald Trump gravitates towards.

Who is Michael Flynn?

Michael Flynn is a retired military general who served 33 years in the U.S. Army. In 2012, Barack Obama appointed Flynn as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DNI), the intelligence agency of the Department of Defense. In 2014 Flynn was forced out as DNI after clashing with other administration officials, exhibiting a questionable relationship with the truth, and harboring dangerously negative views about Islam.

Role in Donald Trump's Campaign

The discredited retired general became a top foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Many remember him leading the "Lock her Up" chants at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and for his outspoken and militant views about Hillary Clinton and Islam. One of Donald Trump's closest advisers, he was even considered as a potential vice presidential candidate before Mike Pence got the nod. Flynn was ultimately tapped as national security adviser, the top national security position in the U.S. government.

Activities on Behalf of Foreign Governments

Shortly after the presidential elections, Flynn came under increasing scrutiny.

First, it was disclosed that Flynn was paid to attend a banquet honoring Russia Today, a propaganda television station controlled by the Russian government, and gave several other speeches to Russian entities. Military guidelines required Flynn to get approval for these payments, but he did not request or obtain any such approval.

In November 2016 it was also disclosed that a Turkish lobbying firm with ties to the Turkish government paid Flynn more than $500,000 to lobby for the Turkish government. In fact, on election day 2016, Flynn wrote an op-ed in The Hill urging the U.S. to extradite Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania and long-time opponent of Turkish President Erdogan, to Turkey to face charges. Again, military guidelines required Flynn to get approval for such payments but he did not get any such approval. Flynn also failed to register as a "foreign agent", as required pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Only in March 2017, after Flynn was already in deep legal trouble, did Flynn retroactively register.

Finally, in late December 2016, Michael Flynn had a phone call with the Russian Ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislayk, in which the two discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia. According to U.S. law, codified in what's called the Logan Act, it is illegal for unauthorized private citizens to negotiate with foreign governments on behalf of the U.S. Once again, Flynn did not initially disclose these activities, and when Flynn finally did he denied that the subject of sanctions ever came up. It's important to note that at the time Flynn had this conversation, he had already been notified by the Justice Department that he was under investigation for his work on behalf of the Turkish government. He knew he was under increased scrutiny but decided to go ahead with the call and lie about it as well.

Removal as National Security Adviser

On January 27, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice notified the White House that Flynn had lied to Vice President Pence and others about what Flynn discussed on the call with Ambassador Kislyak, and told the White House that Flynn's underlying conduct implicated at least one criminal statute. The White House reviewed the matter internally but took no public action, and Flynn continued to serve in his role, receive classified information and participate in meetings with world leaders. Only 18 days later, on February 13, 2017, following a report in the Washington Post that Flynn had in fact discussed sanctions and later lied about it, President Trump finally asked Flynn to resign. Explaining the decision to let Flynn go, Trump said that Flynn didn't do anything wrong and is a good man, but that he had lost the trust of the Vice President.

Since Flynn's resignation, additional details about his lobbying activities on behalf of Turkey, payments from Russia and contacts with Russian government officials have come to light. It seems like every day brings with it new revelations of improper contacts between Flynn and Russian officials. In fact, since I started writing this post, a Reuters article was published claiming that Flynn had previously unreported conversations with Ambassador Kislyak in which they discussed forming a "communication back channel for communication between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could bypass the U.S. national security bureaucracy." Sounds pretty sketchy.

What Does All This Mean?

So, to recap, Michael Flynn:

1. Accepted payments from and lobbied on behalf of Turkey, without disclosing that he was a paid foreign agent. This included, among other things, improperly influencing U.S. military operations in Syria.

2. Accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Russia and Turkey without the permission of and knowledge of the U.S. military, as required by U.S. law.

3. On at least one occasion, by discussing U.S. sanctions on Russia with a Russian official, violated the Logan Act, which prohibits unauthorized persons from negotiating with foreign governments on behalf of the U.S. government.

4. Lied to Vice President Pence and others in the White House about what he discussed with Ambassador Kislyak, by denying that the topic of sanctions came up on the December 27 call.

Throughout this saga, Donald Trump has, inexplicably, defended Michael Flynn and stayed loyal to him at every juncture. Trump has repeatedly defended Flynn in public, stating that Flynn is "a good man" who did nothing wrong. Trump even asked the former director of the FBI, Jim Comey, to drop the investigation of Michael Flynn, reportedly telling Comey to "let this one go". This request is not only unusual but arguably illegal, as it is considered obstruction of justice to improperly influence an ongoing government investigation. Trump also urged Flynn to seek and obtain legal immunity from prosecution. All of these actions clearly show that Trump has stayed loyal to Flynn and clearly wants Flynn to escape unscathed from his legal mess.

But why does Trump continue to defend Flynn while Flynn's inappropriate and/or illegal activities keep trickling out to the public?

The answer is that Donald Trump is either loyal to a fault or is terrified that Flynn knows something that can bring Trump down.

At a minimum, it is now clear Trump knew about some of Flynn's inappropriate activities. Thanks to the New York Times report, we know that the Trump transition team knew that Flynn was under investigation for his undisclosed relationship with the Turkish government prior to him being hired as national security adviser, but this did not stop Trump from going ahead with the hire.

Due to Trump's role as Flynn's boss, it's not a stretch to assume that Trump himself directed Flynn to communicate with Russian officials, and this is why the White House failed to act for so long after being notified that Flynn lied to Pence. Given the facts and what we know about Trump, this is the more likely scenario in my view. Flynn's lawyer has publicly stated that Flynn is seeking immunity because "he has a story to tell". We all have the right to hear it and determine whether there are more questionable activities that involve Flynn and Trump.

And if the answer is that Trump is simply loyal to those who stood with him from the beginning, it is not a satisfying one. Flynn broke laws and endangered U.S. national security. If Trump thinks that keeping loyal but wholly incompetent lackeys around him is good for the United States, it's extremely worrying. That Trump brought Flynn into the inner circle of government while knowing that Flynn had sold his influence to the Turkish government shows awful judgment.

In conclusion, we don't yet know all the details and answers about the Flynn saga, but upcoming revelations may soon help us find out more. Either way, this saga, and what it shows about the Trump administration, is very disturbing.