Michael Flynn

Newspaper Pack

• “He was on the payroll of a foreign government while in a powerful position in the U.S. government.” -WaPo

• “The Turkish man who gave Mike Flynn a $600,000 lobbying deal just before President Donald Trump picked him to be national security adviser has business ties to Russia.” -Politico

• “During the election, Flynn was one of a handful of Trump advisers who had clear-cut ties to Russia, fueling rumors that the Russian government was propping up the Trump campaign. Flynn has appeared multiple times on RT, a state-backed Russian news agency, and he sat at a table with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a dinner celebrating the network’s 10-year anniversary in 2015.” -Politifact

• “Mr. Obama, who had fired Mr. Flynn..., told Mr. Trump that he would have profound concerns about Mr. Flynn becoming a top national security aide... Mr. Trump later ignored the advice, naming Mr. Flynn to be his national security adviser.” -NYT

• “For a full eight minutes, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan read aloud an inventory of Michael Flynn’s lies — describing his ‘disgust’ that President Trump’s national security adviser sought to deceive FBI agents while ‘on the premises of the White House…’ ‘This is a very serious offense…’ ‘Arguably, you sold your country out.’“ -WaPo

• “In December, before Trump assumed office, Flynn talked to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about potentially lifting U.S. sanctions President Barack Obama had just levied on Russia. These sanctions were punishment for alleged Russian meddling in the election to try to help Trump win… Pence then went on CBS News’s ‘Face the Nation’ and said Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak ‘had nothing to do’ with sanctions.” -WaPo

• “Flynn lied about Russia, and it opened him up to potential blackmail from Russia.” -WaPo

• “Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI on contacts with Russian ambassador.” -WaPo

• Flynn “endorsed a racist author who claims ‘diversity is code for white genocide.’ Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has declared Flynn to be a ‘great pick!’“ -MediaMatters

• “I think he’s a hero.” -Trump

• “In addition to dubious connections to Putin’s Russia and Erdogan’s Turkey, Flynn has expressed extremist Islamophobic views, not surprising for a board member of ACT! for American, which the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPCL) classifies as an ‘anti-Muslim hate group.’” -Cas Muddle, “The Far Right in America”

Late Nite Pack

• “While serving as an adviser to the Trump campaign,… Flynn and the Turkish officials discussed the possibility of kidnapping fugitive Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen… and delivering him to the government of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan… Flynn – and his son, as it happens – would be paid [$15 million] for this act of international abduction.” -The Wall Street Journal

• “Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pled guilty to charges that he lied to the FBI during their investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia, or as Fox News reported it ‘Did Hillary Clinton secretly join ISIS?’” -Colin Jost

• “Flynn sets record with only 24 days as national security adviser. The average tenure is about 2.6 years.” -WaPo

• “Trump is finally draining the swamp of the people he brought to the swamp.” -Trevor Noah

• “The judge went on to ask the prosecutors if Michael Flynn’s conduct ‘rises to the level of treasonous activity,’ to which the prosecutors replied they ‘did not consider charging Flynn with treason.’ Then the judge asked again ‘Could he have been charged with treason?’ Probably not a great sign when you’re not charged with treason, but the judge really wants to know why not.” -Stephen Colbert

• “Trump’s former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, posted a video on Independence Day in which he recites an oath for QAnon conspiracy theorists…  As the QAnon conspiracy theory goes, powerful liberal politicos are running an underground child sex trafficking operation but will ultimately be exposed and charged for their crimes after ‘The Storm.’” -Mother Jones

• “Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg was among the attendees at a gala dinner at a Moscow hotel celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Russian TV network RT. Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who was advising Trump’s campaign at the time, was paid $45,000 to speak at the gala and sat next to Putin at the head table.” -Time