Flynn guilty plea draws probe closer to Trump
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador last December, becoming the first senior White House official to pledge cooperation in the special counsel’s wide-ranging inquiry of election meddling.
Flynn’s pre-inauguration discussions with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, were part of a coordinated effort by aides running Trump’s transition into the White House to create foreign policy before they were in power, documents released as part of Flynn’s plea agreement show. Their efforts undermined the existing policy of President Barack Obama and flouted a warning from a senior Obama administration official to stop meddling in foreign affairs until after the inauguration.
Court documents do not disclose what Trump knew about Flynn’s discussions. But in at least one instance, federal prose-
cutors say, Flynn was directed by a “very senior member” of the presidential transition team. Trump’s lawyers believe that unnamed aide was Trump’s sonin-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, according to a lawyer briefed on the matter.
The transition team was led by Vice President Mike Pence, and its top members included Kushner; Reince Priebus, Trump’s first chief of staff; and K.T. McFarland, who was Flynn’s deputy and was nominated to be the ambassador to Singapore. Flynn spoke to her about discussing sanctions against Russia with Kislyak, according to the lawyer.
Flynn’s decision to plead guilty marked a significant new phase in the investigation of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and a politically treacherous development for the president and his closest aides, whose activities in the West Wing are being scrutinized by FBI agents and federal prosecutors.
Flynn’s admissions in his plea deal could deeply undercut the arguments made in January by Trump and his aides that they were not fully aware of Flynn’s discussion with Russians about sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration over the election meddling. In fact, the documents say multiple members of the team coordinated the specifics of Flynn’s outreach to Russia and knew that the conversations were about sanctions.
Court documents say that on Dec. 29, Flynn called a senior transition official who was with other members of the team at Trump’s Mar-aLago club in Florida “to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the U.S. sanctions.”
In a statement issued after he entered his plea in a federal courthouse in Washington, Flynn, 58, denied “false accusations of ‘treason,’ ” but said that he had agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors, who are examining whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russians during the election and whether the president or his aides sought to cover up those efforts.
“I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right,” Flynn said.
During the court hearing, prosecutors focused on Flynn’s activities during the transition, when he discussed with Kislyak the sanctions, and later talked with Russia and other countries about their votes on an upcoming U.N. resolution.
Prosecutors did not disclose at the hearing any new details about Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election or whether any of Trump’s associates were involved.
Ty Cobb, the president’s lawyer dealing with the Russia inquiry, played down the potential impact of Flynn’s deal with federal authorities, saying that Flynn served only briefly in the administration and had pleaded guilty to a single count of lying to the FBI.
“Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn,” Cobb said in a statement, repeating the White House hopes that Mueller will conclude the investigation quickly.
While Trump can point to the court documents and say they show no evidence of collusion with Russia, the special counsel’s filings so far paint a damning portrait of Trump’s associates. His former campaign chairman, two other campaign aides, and his former national security adviser have now all been charged with felonies.
Prosecutors said they would delay Flynn’s sentencing, a sign that their investigation was not over and that they had not exhausted Flynn’s cooperation. Lying to the FBI carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, but court documents indicate that Flynn faces a likely sentence of zero to six months in prison.