Thanks to the intrepid media — and some brave, concerned leakers in the government — we now know that former (hooray!) National Security Advisor Michael Flynn did in fact discuss President Obama’s latest round of sanctions against Russia in his phone calls with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on 12/29/16, the same day the sanctions were announced.
We could debate whether this discussion violated the 1799 Logan Act, but nobody has ever been prosecuted for violating that obscure law, and Flynn won’t be either, so let’s let that one lay.
In his resignation letter, Flynn would have us believe that he was just a little bit careless:
In the course of my duties as the incoming National Security Advisor, I held numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts, ministers, and ambassadors. These calls were to facilitate a smooth transition and begin to build the necessary relationships between the President, his advisors and foreign leaders. Such calls are standard practice in any transition of this magnitude.Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology.
The first paragraph is a self-serving mish-mash. Poor me, I was so busy! What he didn’t seem to bother with — and what is also standard practice in ‘any transition of this magnitude’— was phone logs, notes, memos for record, etc. You don’t spend 30 years in the military — at any rank — without learning that Rule #1 is Cover Your Ass.
Then Flynn gets to his oopsie….. aw, shucks…. it was just too busy, sorry about that.
Notice he admits to having lied to the Vice President…. but doesn’t mention lying to the President. That is significant. If he had lied to Trump, he would have written this letter a whole lot sooner, and certainly would have mentioned that lie.
So Flynn didn’t lie to Trump. That’s the only conclusion I can come up with, which brings us to the classic question: How much did the president know, and when did he know it?
Let’s go back to 12/29 and consider what we’re supposed to believe happened:
Mike Flynn is watching CNN, hears the announcement of the sanctions, picks up his cell phone and calls…. not his boss the president-elect to find out how to deal with this new issue, but his good friend the Russian Ambassador, to tell him not to worry about the sanctions because they will be taken care of right after the inauguration. Then he forgets to let the President-elect know about what he had committed the President-elect to doing. Then when the news of the calls broke in January, he briefed Pence and Spicer (but not Trump) and again forgot he had discussed the sanctions. And all the while Trump was blissfully unaware that any of this had happened.
That’s what the White House is asking us to believe, but it’s so incredibly full of holes that it just can’t possibly stand, can it?
As the title of the diary indicates, I absolutely cannot believe that the president-elect was not fully aware that Flynn was going to discuss the sanctions BEFORE the phone calls were made. How could Flynn have given those assurances without knowing Trump was on board?
I also believe that whether he was in the room when Flynn lied to Pence and Spicer and whoever else, Trump knew full well that they were publicly stating things that weren’t true when they went on TV to claim that Flynn’s calls weren’t about sanctions.
When Pence sat down with Trump after his TV appearance, did Trump let him in on the big secret? Doesn’t sound like it.
There are plenty of other questions to be answered as this crisis unfolds over the next few weeks.
This may sound like hyperbole, but I even suspect Trump’s presidency may be at risk. Remember, he wouldn’t be the first president brought down by lies and a cover-up.
Cheers.