Trump’s explanation needs explaining
Donald Trump yesterday said adviser Michael Flynn was fired because he lied to the FBI.
The US President was reacting for the first time since Flynn, his former national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with the Kremlin.
On Twitter, the president insisted Flynn’s contacts with Moscow during the 2016 election “were lawful” but he had to be fired because he had lied about them. Critics said this meant Mr Trump knew Flynn had lied to the FBI before asking them to drop the investigation.
Flynn is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian influence on the last US election and has said members of the president’s inner circle were intimately involved with – and at times directing – his contacts.
Reports claim Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and Mr Trump’s son-in-law, could be one of the inner circle involved in directing Flynn’s contact with Russia.
The retired general’s plea to a single felony count of false statements made him the first official of Mr Trump’s White House to be charged so far in the criminal investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Court papers make clear that senior officials for Mr Trump’s transition were fully aware of Flynn’s outreach to Russian officials in the weeks before the inauguration.