I believe the analysis of Robert Mueller’s investigation which theorizes that Mueller is “writing his report” by way of unfolding indictments, trials and DoJ documents. Michael Flynn was part of Donald Trump’s campaign – he stood on stage at the Republican National Convention and began the “lock her up” chant. Then Trump made him National Security Advisor, despite Sally Yates’ warnings that Flynn was compromised by foreign intelligence in about a million different ways. Flynn was also dealing undercover with Russian officials during the transition in late 2016, which is massively illegal too.
Flynn is one of the big reasons why Robert Mueller’s investigation exists. And so everyone was interested in the much-hyped document-drop from DoJ yesterday about the Flynn deal. It’s been known for some time that Flynn has been talking to Mueller, just as we’ve known that Flynn’s adult son was also up to his ass in illegal sh-t too, and that Mueller would have gone after Flynn’s son if Flynn didn’t talk. Well, Flynn talked. NINETEEN interviews. And the document drop was heavily redacted.
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III on Tuesday recommended that former national security adviser Michael Flynn serve no prison time, citing his “substantial assistance” with several ongoing investigations, according to a new court filing. Flynn was forced out of his post as national security adviser in February 2017 after the White House said he misled administration officials, including Vice President Pence, about his contacts with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States at the time.
Since then, Flynn has been cooperating with Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, and his full account of events has been one of the best-kept secrets in Washington. He is one of five Trump aides who have pleaded guilty in the special counsel probe.
The special counsel’s filing Tuesday is the first time prosecutors have described Flynn’s assistance since the former national security adviser’s guilty plea last year. But Tuesday’s sentencing memo was heavily redacted, continuing to shroud in secrecy the details of what Flynn has told Mueller’s team and other prosecutors. The special counsel wrote that Flynn has provided information for several ongoing investigations — participating in 19 interviews with federal prosecutors and turning over documents and communications. The filing indicated that Flynn has provided extensive assistance to Mueller, including about matters that were redacted and hidden from public view. It also indicated that he has cooperated with a separate unidentified criminal investigation, the details of which were completely redacted.
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to one felony count of making a false statement, despite a longer list of charges he could have faced. Prosecutors said last year they would likely seek a prison sentence between zero and six months. On Tuesday, the special counsel’s office said that based on Flynn’s assistance, the government was recommending a sentence on the low end of that range, “including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration.”
This is something I don’t understand about the Trump loyalists – no matter how much loyalty you show to the orange one, he’s still going to throw you under the bus whenever he feels like it. So you might as well sing like a g-ddamn canary to the special counsel. Mueller WILL show you loyalty if you help him – he’ll even recommend that you spend the bare minimum in jail for your treason and felonious behavior. LOCK HIM UP. Some tweets:
Reminder: Flynn chanted "lock her up" at the RNC, said "If I did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail." pic.twitter.com/GqgoGPKyLZ
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 5, 2018
As a former prosecutor, here is my view of the Flynn memo:
-Mueller is signaling to other targets that if they cooperate, they will get leniency;
-There are "several ongoing investigations";
-Mueller believes his job is secure & felt no need to disclose what he has uncovered. https://t.co/cZVg9CL7RW
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 5, 2018
Ladies, if he’s:
– ██████████
– ██████████
– ██████████
– ██████████He’s not your man. He’s Michael Flynn.
— marisa kabas (@MarisaKabas) December 5, 2018
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Kushner or Pence next for indictment? I say Kushner.
There’s still too much low-hanging fruit. Roger Stone, Carter Page, Julian Assange, staffers we don’t know about, some Russians. We’re at least one or two rounds of indictments away from the inner circle.
I’d like Erik Price, so we can seize assets, shut down his mercenary army and stop his collaboration with the PLA and the Saudis.
I desperately want Prince to go down, but don’t know if any of this points to him?
It is looking bad for Kushner, though.
Prince is on my indictment wish list too. @Tiny Martian, Prince traveled to a remote tropical island just before the inauguration to meet with a Russian money manager with ties to Putin. Various news reports seem to have confirmed the meeting was to set up a back channel between Russia and the Trump administration. That in itself is not illegal, but he then lied to Congress about why he made the trip. If he told the same story to Mueller’s team, he lied to the FBI – which is a felony.
I desperately want to see justice done for Prince as well, but I think he’s going to be a slippery one. He’s the kind of guy who will cheerfully comply with subpoenas for his devices because he knows they all get wiped to DoD standards on a regular basis for any data he’s not actively using, plus uses apps like Signal that encrypt and permanently delete messages according to the parameters you set. He’s pretty savvy, and I’ll bet the SIGINT trail on him is way inferior to what they had on less technologically sophisticated people like Flynn and Roger Stone. If Prince goes down, it’ll probably be because of other people’s testimony, and I can’t imagine he wouldn’t take the opportunity to rat them out first. Because he hasn’t been an appointee of the current administration, there are fewer avenues for pursuing him than someone like Flynn.
Maybe they can get him on lying to Congress? It seemed like he stonewalled on a lot of stuff though, feeling confident that possibly being held in contempt (which he wasn’t) would be better than risking a perjury charge.
I live in hope, though. He is a nasty piece of work.
And China! Don’t forget Prince has set up mercenary training camps in China as well.
He set up the meeting in the Seychelles and there is supposedly intelligence confirming this. Flynn probably confirmed it as well too.
Flynn must have given up either Trump, Trump Jr or Jared.
No jail time in a deal is only given if the culprit has something really big to offer in exchange.
Yes. This is a clear message for the Dumpster, now he knows that Flynn has told all.
@Maya-
This, ^, 100%.
I’m a little bummed, I wanted Mr. “Lock her up!” to be locked up himself, but he obviously has given up some very, very important info on a much bigger player.
Just wait till the military courts get their hands on him.
Question for an American, or really anyone who could answer this for me. Wasn’t there a general or someone who had a prostitute or a woman he was having an affair with – and this woman had seen classified documents or something of that nature? Am I making that up in my head, or was that a thing a few years ago? And am I just confusing this person with Flynn, or was it him?
Nevermind – I finally found it. Petraeus.
And Nagini. She’s the one who told Flynn he could have any job he wanted. She is as involved, if not more so, than any of the others.
Mike Jr tweeted a pic with Trump and Mike Sr today. What game is he playing at?
Yup, he sang like a canary. This is very bad news for bigly orange. Mueller’s phone must be ringing off the hook so others can testify too and get no prison time! Bless you, Robert Mueller!
I understand why Mueller would hand down no jail time in exchange for cooperation that I assume is supposed to net really big fish, but it is a bitter pill indeed. Every single one of these assh*les should be in jail for the rest of their traitorous lives, and they’re going to walk free for turning on each other and be free to commit some other white collar crime. And they will, because people like this never, ever change.
@Grabbyhands I know, I am on the same boat. However, if it leads to removing 45 and the architects of this nightmare of a country we are living in, I am all here for it.
Yes, it is a bitter pill. But when you think of all the laws broken by Flynn and realize that he is small potatoes compared to what Dump and Co have been up to, then you realise how incredibly corrupt the current Crime Family in Charge are.
@OSTONE and @Tiny Martian-
This is what I am holding on to – that RM is carefully laying this out to be able to reel in the big prize. And that would be very sweet indeed. Also, someone on another site posited that by doing things this way with Flynn, it makes it so 45 can’t pardon him, but I have no idea if that is accurate or not.
Yes, Grabbyhands, that does seem to be what Mueller is doing: neutralizing the POTUS power to pardon.
@grabbyhands….I think Trump can still pardon on Federal charges but it’s a moot point if you don’t have jail to stay out of.
He might still get brought up in a military tribunal – the man will die penniless and disgraced.
Karma is a b*tch so you never know what happens down the road. Sure he doesn’t get jail time but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t pay down the road in other ways – that includes his kids and grandkids. People used to say karma hurts more when if affects your kids and not you. I’m looking at the Kennedy curse as a good example.
There will be a ton of live tweeting from this funeral today. Trump is already not the center of attention because of the Bush funeral and Cohen’s plea. Now Mueller drips this the night before the funeral. Trump was painful to watch yesterday when body arrive at Capitol, today is gonna be bad. The heavy redactions and other matters Flynn helped with? Remember he started this “Lock her up crap”.. the ironies
I think the recent raids of Deutsche Bank will unearth some damaging information about 45’s financial dealings and help Robert Mueller fill in some gaps in his investigation .
I feel like a kid at Christmas! Bring it on! I would like to see the jail door slam shut on these criminals. Above the law? Please lets show them that’s not the case. We will suffer the fallout from Trump for decades. Lets stop the slide now.
Who did Flynn serve up on a gold platter to get this deal? If it’s not Trump directly then it has to be other big fish and a bunch of them. I think he gave up the goods on Prince, Uday, Daughter/Wife, Tom Riddle and potentially some GOP people.
Given what Mueller had on him, jail time was for certain so he’s clearly spilled the tea on everyone.
Also…Vice President Mike Pence!!!
Pence lead the transition team, he was in the middle of it with Flynn. Pence got popped lying about that already too.
So, let’s float Pence up to the top with other names. Mueller has drawn a target on him, too.
Remember, it was Paul Manafort who INSISTED that Trump pick Pence as VP. Why? A very unpopular evangelical Governor from Indiana? What could he actually bring to the party? WE ARE ABOUT TO FIND OUT!! 😀 Happy claps!
I hope this makes everyone else with damaging information becomes braver about telling Mueller everything they know now that they see they might not be thrown into prison. Flynn talked to Mueller in 19 interviews. There must have been a lot to tell and it must have been really important information
It’s not enough for him to sing. They’re going to need proof to bring down the top.
That’s just it: When Mueller asks these guys questions, he already knows the answers. He’s just getting corroboration.
Just like all the Fed prosecutors say, “You don’t ask questions that you do not already know the answers to.”
While I’d have preferred some jail time, if he has served up Kushner and Pence then it’ll be worth it. But can’t someone slap that bitch for what he said at the convention. If he did a TENTH of what she did, he’d be in Jail. Lock her up, he said. Yeah well, he still deserves jail for what he did but big picture Mueller is sending a message.
I haven’t checked Twitter to see if Donald’s thrown up all over it. It would be a baaad look on the day of a state funeral but he is who he is so I wouldn’t be surprised. Though if he’s quiet I won’t know if he’s just showing some regular human decency or he is so scared he can’t even tweet! Mueller is coming for him. I’m seriously beginning to think there may be a President Pelosi.
He’s too busy preparing to crash the stock market for a second day with his bizarre ramblings about tariffs and China. He’ll get to Flynn soon.
US Stock market is closed today in honor of Bush, but other markets are open and not doing too well.
On that note, I got an email from a client today asking to cancel her bond because HER client has closed their account, citing that “the stock market is too risky and unstable right now”.
I expect a LOT more of that in 2019. Sigh.
Lol at all the QANON losers trying to spin this as Flynn gave up info to take down Obama and Hillary.
Double Lol at the Trumpsters saying this is nothing cause it’s heavily redacted…or that Flynn got this deal cause he did nothing wrong.
Triple Lol at Trump’s goose being cooked just in time for Christmas dinner, all by a guy he was warned not hire and was forced to fire two weeks into his term.
There’s just about 0% chance Flynn didn’t give up something on someone higher than him.
Yeah I saw a lot of “the only thing he did wrong was lie!!!”. Mmmkay.
1) Lying to the FBI isn’t a small thing
2) He broke the law by lobbying for Turkey when he wasn’t registered as a lobbyist. This is the same thing that Manafort got CHARGED for.
3) Trump supporters are just straight-up sad at this point. And I don’t mean “sad” like “I feel bad for them”–NO, not even slightly–I mean “sad” as in “pathetic, delusional sycophants”. THAT kind of sad.
Last night’s drop on Flynn was a great day for all of us. Remember, just because Mueller recommends no jail time doesn’t mean Flynn won’t see the inside of a cell.
There’s a third mystery crime no one can decipher. And it seems it’s not within Mueller’s wheelhouse. Oh boy.
Emperor Zero is bigly screwed. As is Jared, Ivanka, Individual-1 Jr, Uday, Bannon, and I believe with all that Muellermas brings, both Sessions and VP Pence!
There is a massive emoluments case, involving two State AGs, comprising 255 and 237 pages each, that has subpoena power over EZ’s life that requires documents by January 3! It’s gonna be lit!!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
I personally am insatiably curious about the third criminal investigation!
So much to stay tuned for, I feel like this administration is brought to us by Netflix!
Ok, lol, I have been skeptical and fretful but Eric, I think you’ve managed to get me into the spirit. Merry Muellermas! 🙂
Good on ya, Esmom.
Flynn must have brought the juiciest of fruit to Mueller to have effectively escaped prison. 19 meetings. Flipper central because so many more sheepishly walked into the SC Office after Flynn, who was busted in January 2017.
Warning to traitors still out there: come in today and we can work out a deal. Wait and a blizzard of hellfire awaits you.
Simple
@Eric What do you think is the third crime? Seriously you also got me all excited for this!!!!
Ostone:
Counter-intelligence?
Guessing
Do you know if Whitaker/Trump will have access to the unredacted version of the Flynn sentencing documents?
Tiff:
I think because he is acting AG, Whitaker will get to see the unredacted parts and may decide to inform the “president.”
However, this is way too far along for the train to stop.
It sounds like Trump has a bunch of legal neophytes working for him, so I am hoping that even if they have access they won’t know what to do with the info! Other than poop some bricks, of course. 😉
Trump won’t read it because he can’t read. If someone tries to explain it to him in layman’s terms, he’ll stop listening after 18 seconds and will be daydreaming about roadrunner cartoons instead, because even the “for dummies” version is about 14 levels above his comprehension.
What struck me was that the filing speaks about Flynn’s early cooperation that resulted in others engaging with Mueller. It makes me think that there’s a chance that Flynn wore a wire.
Think of all the smarmy deals Flynn had going on worldwide, and yet, no time? Flynn had to have brought unimpeachable evidence …
That very possibility was being speculated early this morning on the news. He probably brought the goods on the Rump and FrankenDon via a wire.
If it’s proven there was collusion to rig the election can it be voided and every last c0cksucker that Traitor-in-Chief hired be kicked out on their incompetent and/or felonious asses? Including Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
Dare we even hope?
I am hoping so!! So hoping that Kavanaugh and Gorusch get the damn boot right up their entitled butts!!
There’s no constitutional mechanism for doing so, unfortunately. Much of the reason is the Electoral College. Even if there was massive rigging of the popular vote (and it’s tough to prove how individual people’s voting decisions were actually changed by illegal influence operations, plus voting machines make it exceedingly difficult to prove outright fraud if any occurred), problems with the popular vote still don’t invalidate the votes cast by the individual electors appointed in each state.
The remedy for a crooked presidential election is impeachment, and then getting both the federal government and the individual states to enforce the rule of law to ensure the next presidential election isn’t corrupted. Not anywhere near as satisfying as, “Let’s throw the grifters out and start over!”, but it’s what we’ve got.
@The Other Katherine – What if the FBI investigated the Kavanaugh stuff and found that crimes had been committed? Could he be arrested and jailed? Gorusch might not be great, but I don’t think he’s a flat-out criminal like Kavenaugh…??
Pretty sure Kavanaugh would still have to be impeached — even if he were disbarred, SCOTUS justices are not constitutionally required to be qualified to practice as lawyers. However, they don’t have the potential immunity from prosecution that is theoretically ascribed to sitting presidents by the DoJ, because SCOTUS justices are not part of the executive branch. So, if he were somehow imprisoned for perjuring himself before Congress (for example), I think then it would be an easy sell to get him impeached if there was a Republican president and the Republican Senate majority thought they would get another ultra-conservative justice confirmed. However, I think getting Kavanaugh impeached is *incredibly* unlikely unless there is a future Democratic Congress that has a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate — also profoundly improbable.
Kavanaugh and Gorsuch are much less likely to be removed from SCOTUS than DJT from the presidency. Court-packing would be a more realistic path for a future Dem administration (with a Senate majority) to redress the imbalance on SCOTUS that was induced by the current illegitimate president — there’s not a plausible path forward for removing Kavanaugh or Gorsuch (him especially, as his private conduct appears largely above reproach) or Thomas (another serial harasser).
Low hanging fruit to some but remember he was military. To me that’s a whole different level of betrayal. Especially since he lived/worked during the Cold War. I hope he lost his military retirement.
Oooh. I’ve been reading the comments with a sense of happiness (Pence, his kids, etc.) and I hadn’t thought of this. I hope that retirement’s gone too. Who I also really want to see slither away, to never come out from under a rock again, is #PresidentMiller.
Hmm, haven’t thought of that, but I think he’d have to be recalled to active duty and court-martialed for violation of some article of the UCMJ. Despite his conviction, he still retained his rank and retired pay, so I doubt anyone would come after him now, especially since he cooperated with the investigation. And, in the eyes of many of the senior military brass, he’s still a good ole boy just like Petraeus.
UCMJ still applies to retired military personnel who are eligible for retirement pay. It’s pretty crazy: http://www.caaflog.com/2018/01/01/top-ten-military-justice-stories-of-2017-1-exercising-court-martial-jurisdiction-over-retired-members/. Courts martial of retirees don’t happen often, but they can happen.
That memo is such a tease. It’s like a TV season finale cliffhanger.
“Who shot JR?”
“What’s in the hatch?”
“What happens now that the wall fell and the WW have a dragon?”
“The defendant provided useful information concerning………………………………………”
My sincere desire is that Flynn is court martialled (prosecuted by the military court). I can’t imagine military officers appreciate him getting off Scott Free for merely ratting out co-conspirators. Conspiring with the enemy is a death sentence.
That would be great, fingers crossed that a military team is on that. And kudos for your smooth use of Scott Free, lol.
I was about to say retired military personnel aren’t subject to courts-martial, but I did some quick Googling and it looks like I was mistaken. It’s been done before, and to a general too. Realistically, I don’t think that would happen in Flynn’s case, especially since he’s cooperating, but it’s an interesting idea.
I told my friend today that this report’s release was a total power move. Mueller must be getting serious.
In all honesty, there’s something bigger that Mueller is trying to get to. I think there’s a possible Israeli intervention since Flynn contacted the Russian sources on behest of the Israelis – and that’s where the real story is – which is why I think Mueller wants to keep him for a probe.
Wow, that’s an interesting take!
Flynn was supposedly always around the boss, from campaign to the early weeks of entering the WH. I would guess he is a major thread in this web.
People mention Comey, but to me, the first real victim was S. Yates. She did her job by going to the WH and letting them know Flynn was seriously compromised. Her reward was to be fired (supposedly over another issue), while Flynn remained on the payroll until her warning went public. Seems like that was 10 years ago, when it was less than two years ago.
Thank you. I was just about to mention that Sally Yates is really the one who comes out looking like the moral champion in all of this. Of course Trump had to fire her. She was too competent to work for that government.
She is truly a profile in courage.
I have so much admiration for Ms. Yates. She knew what the morally correct thing was to do, and she did it, both with respect to informing the relevant parties about Flynn and with respect to refusing to enforce an unconstitutional travel ban, and she did it all while maintaining unbroken dignity and professionalism. And you know the pressure on her to knuckle under and turn a blind eye must have been ENORMOUS. She is a stand-up human being.
Sally Yates and Preet Bahara
Both are true patriots.
I have been a really big supporter of Yates since she became involved in this mess. She’s shown herself to be a champion of the American people, and she’s incredibly intelligent and graceful. Honestly, I’d love for her to be in the discussion for 2020. She has a great way of speaking about important issues that is clear and powerful. She doesn’t come across as elitist, partially because of her southern twang.
Sally Yates is amazing. She was on David Axelrod’s podcast (Axe Files) and it was a really illuminating interview.
Wasn’t she fired for saying she wouldn’t defend the first Muslim ban?
I think that was the excuse used. That happened the same day she had provided another warning to the WH attorney about Flynn, so it may have been a convenient cover story for her firing.
Thanks for the heads up about the podcast. I follow her on twitter, but I’d love to hear more from her.
I’d rather a Trumpster NOT have jail time and cooperate to take down the big, fat, Orange Whale (and family), than have jail time for someone willing to continue the farce. Go Flynn and Cohen! Take that man and his crooked family down in flames!
Remember: Flynn not only was working with the Russians, but it was also proven that he was plotting to KIDNAP a Turkish citizen and get that person back to Turkey for some torture-like interrogation. His son was in on this kidnap plot, too.
Flynn must have produced some AMAZING information and HARD proof for him to get such a light recommendation. But it’s just a recommendation. The judge decides his sentencing, so Flynn might see the inside of a jail cell.
Flynn’s confessions/info will also include VP Pence, don’t forget. Pence also headed up the transition team WITH Flynn. Pence got the VP slot due to Manafort insisting on it. Pence and Mother should be quaking in their boots, because Mueller has just drawn a big ole target on him as well.
I believe Flynn and Prince (that private army guy) and also entwined in this somehow with secret meetings and whatnot.
Obviously, Jr., Dum Dum, and Nagini are now firmly in the crosshairs.
BUT, BUT, BUT — Nancy Pelosi just got re-elected as Speaker of the House again. OMG, CAN YOU IMAGINE IF IT BECOMES PRESIDENT PELOSI??? The entire right wing cabal as well as everyone at Fox News will explode–just one big, fat, nasty unholy meltdown.
I’m here for it all!!
A very Mueller Christmas, indeed. They need to put that man’s face on Mt. Rushmore. Or make him a statue: The Mueller Memorial. Because he is truly an Hero of the first order.
“it was also proven that he was plotting to KIDNAP a Turkish citizen and get that person back to Turkey for some torture-like interrogation. ”
Wow, I totally forgot about that…which is insane, because it is such a big deal!
I hope the judge ignores the sentencing recommendation, crimes against the democracy should be paid for with jail time. There are so many sketchy activities surrounding him, it’s a guessing game as to whom he gave up the goods on.
May the net be filled with all who committed crimes against America.
Team Mueller!!
To Eric,
Once again thanks for the great news! I’ve always looked to you to calm my frazzled nerves through the past events surrounding the most unqualified elected official ever. I look forward to more good news from you. Wishing you a very Muellermas!
QT:
Same to you! Keep your spirits high and invest in some popcorn futures because it’s going to get way better (and also a bit hairy).