{"id":1239,"date":"2020-07-31T15:55:26","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/?p=1239"},"modified":"2020-08-05T23:06:41","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T23:06:41","slug":"flynn-the-main-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/flynn-the-main-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Flynn: The Main Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Flynn was charged with lying to FBI agents when they visited him in his office (without telling him he was under investigation or warning him that false statements to them would be felonies) and told them that he didn’t talk to the Russian ambassador about the US lifting trade sanctions. He pled guilty to this, but without being allowed to see the transcripts of his phone call with Russian ambassador. The FBI had these transcripts, and they clear Flynn. They show that he was correct in not remembering such a conversation (which in any case would have been perfectly legal and proper for someone advising an incoming Administration)– they didn’t talk about trade sanctions, but about tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats started by the US after Obama accused Russia of interference in the November 2016 election. From New Flynn Transcripts Confirm Mueller Team Lied To The Court and the Country<\/a>, Margot Cleveland, The Federalist, <\/em> June 2020:<\/p>\n

\nNewly confirmed Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Friday shared with congressional oversight committees the summaries and transcripts of intercepted communications between Flynn and Kislyak. The move followed former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell\u2019s decision to declassify<\/strong> nearly all portions of the Flynn-Kislyak telephone conversations from late 2016 and early 2017.
\n
\n… Flynn, who pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2017, to making false statements to FBI agents <\/strong>Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka during a Jan. 24, 2017 interview<\/strong> of Flynn. In a \u201cStatement of Offense\u201d filed that same day with the D.C. District Court, federal prosecutor<\/strong> and Mueller team member Brandon Van Grack \u201cstipulate[d] and agree[d]\u201d that the facts detailed in the Statement of Offense were \u201ctrue and accurate.\u201d<\/strong>
\n
\nVan Grack then attested in the Statement of Offense that Flynn knew that \u201con or about December 28, 2016, then-President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13757, which was to take effect the following day. The executive order announced sanctions against Russia in response to that government\u2019s action intended to interfere with the 2016 presidential election (\u2018U.S. Sanctions\u2019).\u201d
\n
\nThe Statement of Offense … on Dec. 29, 2016,<\/p>\n

\n \u201cFLYNN called the Russian Ambassador and requested that Russia not escalate the situation and only respond to the U.S. Sanctions in a reciprocal manner.<\/strong>.. \u201cFLYNN falsely stated that he did not ask Russia\u2019s Ambassador to the United States (\u2018Russian Ambassador\u2019) to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions<\/strong> that the United States had imposed against Russia,\u201d and \u201calso falsely stated that he did not remember a follow-up conversation in which the Russian Ambassador stated that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions<\/strong> as a result of FLYNN\u2019S request.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\n …. Flynn never raised the \u201cU.S. Sanctions\u201d <\/strong>\u2014 defined by the special counsel\u2019s office as the sanctions announced by Obama Dec. 28, 2016, in Executive Order 13757 \u2014 with the Russian ambassador at all.<\/strong>
\n
\nIn that executive order, as summarized in a White House press release, Obama \u201csanctioned nine entities and individuals: the GRU and the FSB, two Russian intelligence services; four individual officers of the GRU; and three companies<\/strong> that provided material support to the GRU\u2019s cyber operations.\u201d …
\n
\nOf relevance to the Flynn case was the State Department \u201cshutting down two Russian compounds,<\/strong> in Maryland and New York, used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes,\u201d and declaring \u201c\u2018persona non grata\u2019 35 Russian intelligence operatives.\u201d<\/strong>
\n
\nWhile the Obama administration ejected the Russian personnel in response to the Kremlin\u2019s interference with the 2016 election, the expulsions were not part of Executive Order 13757 and thus were not \u201cU.S. Sanctions\u201d as defined in the Flynn Statement of Offense. .<\/strong>..<\/p>\n


\nInstead, what Flynn discussed with Kislyak on Dec. 29, 2016, concerned the expulsion of the Russian diplomats.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\u201cSo, you know, depending on, depending on what actions they take over this current issue of cyber stuff, you know, where they\u2019re looking like they\u2019re gonna, they\u2019re gonna dismiss some number of Russians out of the country<\/strong>, I understand all that and I understand that, that you know, the information that they have and all that, but what I would ask Russia to do is not \u2014 is is \u2014 if anything \u2014 because I know you have to have some sort of action \u2014 to, to only make it reciprocal. Make it reciprocal. Don\u2019t \u2014 don\u2019t make it \u2014 don\u2019t go any further than you have to. Because I don\u2019t want us to get into something that has to escalate, on a, you know, on a tit for tat<\/strong>. You follow me, Ambassador?\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\nKislyak responded that he did but that Flynn needed to \u201cappreciate\u201d that sentiments were raging in Moscow. Flynn noted he appreciated the situation but didn\u2019t want to get into a scenario \u201cwhere we do this and then you do something bigger, and then you know, everybody\u2019s got to go back and forth and everybody\u2019s got to be the tough guy here.\u201d Flynn stressed, \u201c[W]e need cool heads to prevail \u2026 to fight the common threat in the Middle East.\u201d<\/strong>
\n
\nAt that point, Kislyak mentioned \u201csanctions\u201d for the first time<\/strong>, noting that \u201cone of the problems among the measures that have been announced today is that now FSB and GRU are sanctioned,\u201d and Kislyak said it makes him ask himself if the United States remains willing to work on terrorist threats.<\/p>\n


\n… Flynn did not respond to Kislyak\u2019s mention of sanctions with a similar plea to moderate any response. Rather, he merely acknowledged Kislyak\u2019s comments with a \u201cyeah, yeah,<\/strong>\u201d and then Kislyak noted \u201cthat was something we have to deal with, but I\u2019ve heard what you say, and I certainly will try to get the people in Moscow to understand it.\u201d
\n
\n… \u201cIf you have to do something, do something on a reciprocal basis \u2026 because if we send out 30 guys and you send out 60, you know, or you shut down every Embassy, I mean we have to get this to a \u2014 let\u2019s, let\u2019s keep this at a level that is, is even-keeled, okay? Is even-keeled.\u201d
\n
\n…It is blatantly false to say, as Mueller\u2019s team did, that \u201cFLYNN called the Russian Ambassador and requested that Russia not escalate the situation and only respond to the U.S. Sanctions in a reciprocal manner.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nThe Statement of Offense likewise wrongly maintained that Flynn had \u201cfalsely stated that he did not remember a follow-up conversation in which the Russian Ambassador stated that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of FLYNN\u2019S request.\u201d
\n… the declassified transcript of the Dec. 31, 2016 call confirms the Russian ambassador also did not mention sanctions in the follow-up conversation<\/strong>.
\n… Kislyak told Flynn he had \u201ca small message to pass to you from Moscow,\u201d about \u201cthe decision taken by Moscow about action and counter-action.\u201d Kislyak noted that Moscow had taken into account Flynn\u2019s prior conversation with the Russian ambassador and his entreaty to let \u201ccold heads\u201d prevail.
\n
\nKislyak added that Moscow found the \u201cactions have targeted not only against Russia, but also against the president elect,\u201d and that while they were within their right to respond, Russia \u201cdecided not to act now because, it\u2019s because people are dissatisfied with the lost of elections, and it\u2019s very deplorable.\u201d
\n
\n\u201cSo, so I just wanted to let you know that our conversation was taken with weight,\u201d Kislyak concluded.
\n
\nWhile Flynn pleaded guilty to that charge, he did so having not seen the transcript of his actual conversation with Kislyak. In seeking to withdraw his guilty plea, Flynn said he still doesn\u2019t \u201cremember if I discussed sanctions on a phone call with Ambassador Kislyak.\u201d<\/strong> As Flynn\u2019s attorney Sidney Powell told me, his defense team \u201chas been asking for the transcripts and recordings of his conversations with Ambassador Kislyak for almost a year.\u201d<\/strong>
\n
\nYet Van Grack, the federal prosecutor who has since been removed from the Flynn case, refused to provide Powell with the transcript.<\/strong> Powell only received access to the details of the call following the recent declassification and release.
\n
\nFurther, Powell should not have even needed to ask for the transcript because presiding Judge Emmet Sullivan entered a standing order requiring the special counsel\u2019s office to provide Flynn\u2019s attorneys with all material exculpatory information. Yet Van Grack withheld the transcripts.<\/strong>
\n
\nLater, when Sullivan directly ordered the government to file \u201cthe transcripts of any other audio recordings of Mr. Flynn, including, but not limited to audio recordings of Mr. Flynn\u2019s conversations with Russian officials,\u201d Van Grack refused<\/strong>, telling the court instead that it is not relying on that recording \u201cfor purposes of establishing the defendant\u2019s guilt or determining his sentence<\/strong>.\u201d
\n …The Mueller report falsely stated,<\/strong> \u201cFlynn discussed multiple topics with Kislyak, including sanctions. \u2026 With respect to the sanctions, Flynn requested that Russia not escalate the situation, not get into a \u2018tit for tat,\u2019 and only respond to the sanctions in a reciprocal manner.\u201d<\/strong>
\n
\nThe Mueller report also inaccurately reported<\/strong> that \u201con December 31, 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and that Russia had chosen not to retaliate to the sanctions in response to the request.\u201d<\/strong>
\n
\nElsewhere, the special report repeated this lie<\/strong>, noting that immediately after discussing the sanctions with K.T. McFarland, \u201cwho was slated to become the Deputy National Security Advisor,\u201d \u201cFlynn called Kislyak and requested that Russia respond to the sanctions only in a reciprocal manner, without escalating the situation.<\/strong>\u201d
\n … Mueller\u2019s team told the American public, who had no access to the transcripts, that \u201cFlynn falsely stated he did not ask Kislyak to refrain from escalating the situation in response to the sanctions on Russia imposed by the Obama Administration. Flynn also falsely stated that he did not remember a follow-up conversation in which Kislyak stated that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of Flynn\u2019s request.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

… Mueller\u2019s team explicitly defined \u201cU.S. Sanctions\u201d in the Statement of Offense<\/strong> as the sanctions announced in Executive Order 13757, and the expulsions were not part of that executive order. Second, in its press release, the Obama administration distinguished between sanctions and other \u201cactions\u201d it was taking<\/strong> in response to Russia\u2019s interference with the 2016 election, and the latter included the expulsions.
\n
\nThe special counsel\u2019s report also distinguished between sanctions and other retaliatory measures,<\/strong> stating that Executive Order 13757 \u201cimposed sanctions on nine Russian individuals and entities,\u201d but then noting that \u201cthe Obama Administration also<\/strong> expelled 35 Russian government officials and closed two Russian government-owned compounds in the United States.\u201d
\n
\nElsewhere, Mueller\u2019s team distinguished between sanctions and other retaliatory measures by, for instance, stating that \u201con December 29, 2016, the Obama Administration announced that in response to Russian cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election, it was imposing sanctions and other measures<\/strong> on several Russian individuals and entities.\u201d
\n
\nThen the special counsel\u2019s office repeated this point: \u201cOn December 29, 2016, as noted in Volume II, Section II.A.4, supra, the Obama Administration announced that it was imposing sanctions and other measures <\/strong>on several Russian individuals and entities. A third time Mueller repeated this distinction, stating Flynn \u201cspoke with the Russian government when the Obama Administration imposed sanctions and other measures <\/strong>against Russia in response to Russia\u2019s interference in the 2016 presidential election.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\nFrom a Powerline comment<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Despite Sullivan’s assertions to the contrary*, the materiality component (as it relates to impacting an ongoing investigation) of the felony was not met. Court records clearly show Sullivan declares it so met, but then subsequently after such proclamation indicates he has further questions that will need to be addressed in the future by the government as to whether the materiality component was satisfied.<\/strong>
\n.
\nA few months later, the DOJ responds dropping the case as they contend the materiality aspect was NOT satisfied, ergo there was no crime committed. Long story short, Sullivan completely screwed the pooch not establishing materiality and left the door open on his shoddy work that the DOJ ultimately provided an answer. This is a terrible indictment on the competency of Sullivan and his ability to satisfy even simple procedural requirements of Rule 11.
\n.
\n*In short, as Shipwreckedcrew at Redstate affirms: “Judge Sullivan states in open court and on the record he still does not know how the false statements were material. Without knowing that, he can\u2019t determine if there actually is a factual basis for Gen. Flynn\u2019s guilty plea because Judge Sullivan MUST KNOW that factual basis BEFORE he can adjudge Gen. Flynn to be guilty of the offense to which he is pleading guilty.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flynn was charged with lying to FBI agents when they visited him in his office (without telling him he was under investigation or warning him that false statements to them would be felonies) and told them that he didn’t talk to the Russian ambassador about the US lifting trade sanctions. He pled guilty to this, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1239"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1375,"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239\/revisions\/1375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rasmusen.org\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}