Trump aide turns informer in Russia case
Former top aide to Trump will cooperate with inquiry into Russia links after guilty plea over lies to FBI
By Ben Riley-smith, Nick Allen and Rozina Sabur DONALD TRUMP was last night dragged into the FBI’S investigation into Russian meddling in the US election for the first time.
The president’s former national security adviser is reportedly prepared to testify that he ordered him to contact the Russians before entering office.
Michael Flynn, who yesterday admitted lying to the FBI, has agreed to work with investigators looking into Russian meddling in the presidential election as part of a plea bargain.
Flynn is prepared to say that Mr Trump “directed him to make contact with the Russians”, according to a report by ABC News. The claim sent the US stock market tumbling.
In a dramatic day in Washington, media reports also said Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law, had asked Flynn to reach out to officials from Russia, among other countries.
As the row overshadowed news that Mr Trump had enough Senate votes to pass tax cuts, the White House fought back, labelling Flynn a “former Obama administration official” who spent just 25 days in the Trump administration.
Allegations of collusion with Russia have dogged Mr Trump’s first year in office. Flynn is the first White House official charged in an inquiry led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Three other Trump campaign figures – Paul Manafort, Richard Gates and George Papadopoulos – were charged in October.
The former general played a prominent role in Mr Trump’s campaign and was appointed national security adviser, before resigning a month later over his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US.
Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI on Jan 24 – four days after Mr Trump’s inauguration – about his conversations with the ambassador.
Flynn admitted to urging Mr Kislyak not to hit back at new US sanctions on Russia during a meeting in December 2016, after the election. He also conceded he had asked the ambassador to delay a vote on a UN Security Council resolution in the same month.
While neither admission proves collusion before the election, it suggests that after the vote, Trump advisers were reaching out to Russia to undermine Barack Obama’s policies.
The more significant development could be Flynn’s willingness to work with investigators. He has agreed to detail how “a senior official” of Mr Trump’s transition team at his Mar-alago resort discussed what to tell the Russians, according to prosecutors.
Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer, said “nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn”.
Nick Allen and
Ben Riley-smith in Washington
ALL eyes were supposed to be on Capitol Hill yesterday as Donald Trump finally secured support for his “historic” tax reform plan, which he believes will be the biggest achievement of his administration.
Instead, America’s attention shifted to an unexpected bombshell exploding less than a mile away at the E. Barrett Prettyman District Courthouse.
There, Michael Flynn, Mr Trump’s former national security adviser and close confidante, a man accustomed to chatting one-on-one with the president in the Oval Office, delivered a potentially Brutus-like wound.
In the previous 24 hours Flynn, always regarded by Mr Trump as a staunch loyalist, had decided to cooperate with Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating links between the president’s campaign and Russia.
Mr Mueller had placed intense pressure on Flynn, threatening to bring legal proceedings against his son, Michael Flynn Jr, unless he agreed to “flip” and tell the investigation everything he knew. Yesterday, it emerged Flynn Sr was to be charged with lying to the FBI back in January over his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
Flynn, 58, looked grim-faced as he arrived at court. In the cavernous Court Room 14 on the fourth floor he sat at a table between two sharp-suited lawyers, with a pad of paper and a large black coffee pot in front of him.
Judge Rudolph Contreras, a bespectacled and stern figure, asked Flynn to stand. He was then required to answer the questions given to every ordinary defendant – his age, whether he was addicted to drugs, whether he was mentally unstable. When the judge asked for his plea, he stood, slightly stooped, appeared to pause for breath, then responded: “Guilty, your honour.” He looked a broken man. One of the two lawyers standing on either side repeatedly put an arm around his back as his head dropped. Flynn was informed by the judge that his new criminal number was 17-232, that he potentially faced up to five years in jail, a fine of up to $250,000 (£185,000), and the possibility of having to pay the costs of his own imprisonment.
The judge then produced a plea agreement and handed it to Flynn to confirm his signature was at the bottom. It may contain the names of the “senior officials” in the Trump team Flynn has now agreed to give information to Mr Mueller about.
As he left court, Flynn scurried into a court lift, folding his arms tightly and bowing his head. He ignored shouts from members of the public that included, “Did you betray your country?” and “Did Mueller threaten your son?” It was probably not coincidence that he then went straight to his son’s house.
This was the biggest scalp yet for Mr Mueller. Flynn’s cooperation represents a lightning rod that can take him deep into the heart of what went on during last year’s election.
Flynn was a leading member of Mr Trump’s campaign and served for 25 days as national security adviser before being fired for lying to Mike Pence, the vice president, over his contacts with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador.
Mr Trump had continued to defend him fiercely, and Flynn’s fate was at the heart of the president’s decision to fire James Comey as FBI director on May 9. Mr Comey claimed the president asked him to back off investigating Flynn.
Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was also being investigated over claims he discussed removing a Turkish cleric from America to Turkey. The alleged plot
Flynn ignored shouts from members of the public that included, ‘Did you betray your country?’
would have involved Flynn and his son paying $15 million to move Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric blamed by the Turkish authorities for a recent coup.
That allegation was not contained in the charge of lying to the FBI to which he pleaded guilty, and appeared to have been set aside by Mr Mueller in return for cooperation.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Republicans said they had the majority they needed in the 100-seat Senate to pass what would be the biggest overhaul of the US tax system since Ronald Reagan was president in the 1980s.
However, the face of Michael Flynn, rather than news of impending tax cuts, continued to dominate television screens. On Twitter the president wrote: “Republican Senators are working hard to pass the biggest Tax Cuts in the history of our Country. This is a once in a generation chance.”
Mitch Mcconnell, the Senate Republican leader, announced: “We have the votes!” But few were listening.