The lawyer of Ex-national security advisor under President Trump, Michael T Flynn, claims Flynn “has a story to tell” about the allegations concerning Russia’s involvement in the U.S. presidential election held in November 2016.
Is the story worth immunity?
In exchange for immunity from prosecution, Michael Flynn is willing to give his testimony for the examination of the possible Russian ties to the Trump campaign. Flynn was fired in February for misleading White House officials about information that was shared between him and a Russian ambassador to the United States. Flynn’s lawyer and congressional official stated that investigators will not strike a deal until they better understand what kind of information he holds.
An immunity deal would make it nearly impossible to prosecute Michael Flynn after F.B.I. finishes their investigation on whether advisers of President Trump had colluded with Russia in an attempt to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
Demanding immunity before testifying is a common move for witnesses to ensure they will not be prosecuted based on information they give out. It is a tricky play for Congress. They are allowed to grant immunity under federal law, but they normally consult with prosecutors before doing so. Congress tries to stay out of federal investigations and avoid decisions that could disrupt them.
What’s driving this need for immunity?
Nobody knows what Michael Flynn is brewing up in his story. He could have some viable information about the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia. It could lead to some serious action being taken against the Trump administration. It could also be Flynn trying to protect himself against prosecution for his lobbying efforts and illegitimate contact with foreign operatives. Flynn also had an interview with FBI agents in January, it is possible that he is growing worrisome about what he told them when asked about what was said between him and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
Michael Flynn was one of President Trump’s earliest advisers, but that tenure would not last long. It was his own contacts with Russian officials that would lead to his demise. He would then go on to mislead the Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the cabinet with incomplete information. He stated the phone calls he had with the Russian Ambassador were in exchange of holiday pleasantries. What else was exchanged during those phone calls is anyone’s guess.
Why allegations involving Russia?
It is no secret that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin share common interests. A major interest being that of combating terrorism, an interest that was clearly not mutual between Vladimir Putin and former President of the United States Barack Obama.
Claims that Moscow sought to “hijack” the U.S. presidential election have been thrown from everywhere ever since President Trump’s victory in November and that is exactly how the Senate Intelligence Committee opened its hearing on Thursday. There were allegations that Russia planned to manipulate voters in the keys states including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Democrat Mark Warner spoke about his belief that Moscow used technology to spread disinformation, and Senator Elizabeth Warren added with “This Russian ‘propaganda on steroids’ was designed to poison the national conversation in America.” Republican Richard Burr, Panel Chairman, then followed with a statement saying, “We are all targets of a sophisticated and capable adversary.”
Both the United States and Russia have mocked these claims. President Trump often refers to the allegations as “fake news” and President Putin says it is “nonsense” that Russia had any involvement in the 2016 presidential election.
From Army Lieutenant General to Witness Seeking Immunity
Michael Flynn is a retired Lieutenant General of the Army and he is now being scrutinized for having talked about Russian sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. He denied having talked about anything other than holiday cheer with the Ambassador, but new reports reached the White House that gave light to the situation and warned the White House that Michael Flynn may have misled Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the administration about information that was shared between him and the Russian Ambassador.
Mr. Flynn was the one who lead the “lock her up” chants at the Republican National Convention during the summer. They were directed at Hillary Clinton after she was caught handling classified information on her own private email server.