A lawyer for Michael Flynn, former national security adviser, has advised one of President Trump’s lawyers that he can no longer discuss details of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigations into Russia meddling with the 2016 Presidential Election.
The move could indicate that the Flynn camp is cooperating with Robert Mueller, but there is no confirmation of that fact.
If true, however, it could have serious implications because Flynn and his son both have criminal exposure, as pointed out by the New York Times, which broke the news of the notification from Flynn’s lawyer Robert Kelner to Trump’s attorney John Dowd.
While this could mean that Flynn’s camp is in conversation with the prosecutorial team, there is no guarantee that it will lead to any sort of deal being reached.
In December 2016, then president-elect Trump’s transition team severed ties with Michael Flynn Jr. shortly after General Flynn allegedly fomented a rumor about Hillary Clinton and a child sex ring operating out of a pizzeria in Washington, which came to be known as #pizzagate.
The tweet has since been removed, but this was the original content:
“U decide – NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc…MUST READ! https://t.co/O0bVJT3QDr
— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 3, 2016”
Subsequent to the tweet, a gunman entered the Comet Ping Pong in Washington and fired one or more shots. Although Gen. Flynn never specifically mentioned the Comet, it was widely assumed that his tweet instigated the shooting.
A few days later, Flynn Jr. defended the story once again in a tweet of his own that said: ““Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it’ll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many “coincidences” tied to it.”
Flynn Sr. remained the president-elect’s pick for national security adviser even after the incident, and eventually held the post for a total of 24 days.
The special counsel’s investigations into Gen. Flynn are around his Russian ties. In 2015, Gen. Flynn was invited to a dinner funded by a Russian-government-funded TV network called RT. At the dinner, he was seated next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The first phase of Mueller’s investigation led to several key targets against whom felony charges were filed, including Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos.
The first phase has already given Mueller leverage against very high-level targets. Will Phase 2 take him all the way to the Oval Office?
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