Why ex-adviser to Trump can remain free, despite the lies about ties with Russia

Special counsel Robert Mueller's office, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election and suspicions of collusion between Donald Trump's circle and Russia, has recommended that a judge give former national security adviser Michael Flynn a non-custodial sentence as a reward for his "significant assistance" » investigation.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

1 last December Flynn concluded deal with justice, pleading guilty to giving false testimony by the FBI about the content of their conversations with the former Russian ambassador to Washington, Sergei Kislyak, writes Air force.

After that, prosecutors noted in a memorandum to the judge, Flynn did have 19 conversations with investigators and provided “first-hand information about the content and context of interactions between the Trump transition team and Russian officials.”

Photo: twitter / General Flynn @GenFlynn

Flynn served as national security adviser a record short time: from the inauguration of Trump 20 in January 2017 of the year to 13 in February of the same year when he was forced to resign, formally due to the fact that he incorrectly informed Vice President Mike Pence about the content his telephone conversations with Kislyak in the last days of the previous Obama administration. The ambassador's phone was tapped by the FBI.

Talk with Kislyak

December 29 2016 year, the day Obama объявил on the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, the closure of several Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States and the introduction of new sanctions in response to вмешательство in the US election process, Flynn spoke on the phone several times with the Russian ambassador. He asked not to react harshly, because, according to him, the new administration will be able to cancel many of the decisions of the previous one.

Such proposals from a representative of a non-new administration are at least a violation of the protocol. Many in the United States believe that such actions also violate the old Act of Logan 1798 of the year, prohibiting individuals from conducting diplomacy through the head of the government, however, according to this law, not a single person has been convicted for all his long history (even in recent years, the courts have repeatedly referred and proceeded from the fact that he continues to act).

In mid-January, Mike Pence reported on television that Flynn had not discussed the possibility of lifting the sanctions with Kisliak. In late January, FBI agents spoke to Flynn, he told them to talk with Kislyak in a version that did not match the record, and the Justice Department soon warned the White House that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail, since Moscow knows the true content of his conversations with the ambassador.

Photo: twitter / General Flynn @GenFlynn

The special counsel's office memorandum states that Flynn provided assistance in a number of cases, but the part of the document that specifies his services was redacted from the published text - almost half of six pages.

Michael Flynn, a combat general, under the Obama administration held the post of head of military intelligence, but in 2014, he was fired from his post, as reported by the American media, for incompetence.

He was known for his willingness to cooperate with Russia, even after the annexation of the Crimea, tried to establish contacts with the Russian special services, and in the 2015 year, after his retirement, he came to Moscow for a reception on the RT channel and sat at the same table with President Vladimir Putin.

Flynn's verdict will be announced on December 18 in the Federal District Court in Washington.