Trump pardons Michael Flynn
Dems accuse president of abusing his power
President Donald Trump said he issued a pardon Wednesday to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, ending a three-year legal odyssey for the retired Army general who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a Russian ambassador before Trump’s inauguration.
The president’s action in the final weeks of his administration once again highlighted the long shadow cast by the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, which resulted in the prosecution of six former aides to the president.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know
you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!”
This year, Trump commuted the sentence of longtime confidant Roger Stone, a Republican operative convicted of lying to Congress to protect the president’s campaign from the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump’s intervention in the Stone case came just before the flamboyant political consultant was set to report to prison for a 40-month sentence handed down in February.
Before the president’s announcement Wednesday, Flynn took to Twitter and suggested he would prevail in the case.
The general’s family lauded the president’s decision, while Democrats and a senior member of Mueller’s investigative team condemned it.
Joseph Flynn, the general’s brother, credited defense attorney Sidney Powell whom he described as a “warrior for justice.”
Andrew Weissmann, one of the lead prosecutors on Mueller’s team, said Trump’s action subverted the prosecution.
“Trump doing now what he could not convince FBI to do: not hold Flynn to account,” Weissmann tweeted.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Trump’s decision marked yet another “abuse” of his authority.
“Donald Trump has abused the pardon power to reward his friends and political allies, and protect those who lie to cover up for him,” Schiff said. “This time, Trump has once again abused the pardon power to reward Michael Flynn, who chose loyalty to Trump over loyalty to his country.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., called the pardon “one more stain on President Trump’s rapidly diminishing legacy.”
Trump has frequently spoken favorably of his former national security adviser, and the pardon had been a possibility since Flynn entered his guilty plea in 2017.
Trump’s decision could be read as de facto recognition his tenure in the White House is coming to a close, even as he continues to fight the outcome of the election.