Russia link probe: Flynn breaks with Trump team
WASHINGTON: In a sign that Michael Flynn, the former US national security adviser, could be cooperating with the special counsel probing Russian meddling in 2016 elections, his lawyers have stopped sharing information with President Donald Trump’s legal team.
It’s normal for lawyers of people facing similar allegations to share information, but they must stop when any of them begins cooperating with prosecutors. But this new development in itself may not mean the Flynn is indeed cooperating or negotiating a deal, because negotiations can break down.
If Flynn is indeed cooperating, he could grant special counsel Robert Mueller the best information to date as an insider who began working for Trump from an early stage of his campaign, through the transition and to the early days of the presidency.
Flynn is being investigated for contacts with Russia, going back from before he worked with the campaign, and concealing the exact nature of those interactions and accepting money, speaking fee and other payments from Russia-linked entities, which he did not report. Trump fired him in January for lying about these contacts.
Flynn, as national security adviser-designate, had several conversations with then Russian ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak, after President Barack Obama expelled a bunch of Russian diplomats and announced sanctions in retaliation for the Russian meddling.
He had lied to Vice-president Mike Pence about it saying it was courtesy call and only pleasantries were exchanged.
Alarmed by these lies, FBI had warned the White House Flynn might have been compromised. Irish government set to fall as opposition submits no-confidence motion against deputy premier Fianna Fail party’s move may lead Indian-origin Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to go into a snap election just weeks before a December 14-15 summit on Britain’s plans to leave the European Union