Michael Flynn, former national security advisor to President Donald
Trump, leaves following his plea hearing at the Prettyman Federal
Courthouse December 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. PHOTO | CHIP SOMODEVILLA|
AFP
WASHINGTON
Donald
Trump's former top advisor Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to
the FBI over his contacts with Russia, in a dramatic escalation of the
probe into possible collusion between the president's campaign team and
Moscow.
The 58-year-old Flynn — a
retired three-star Army general — is the most senior figure indicted in
special prosecutor Robert Mueller's sprawling investigation into Russian
interference in last year's election.
Flynn's
admission that he had secret discussions in December 2016 with Russian
ambassador Sergey Kislyak — with direction from top officials in Trump's
presidential transition team — set Washington abuzz with speculation as
to who in the Republican leader's inner circle might next be in
Mueller's sights.
The Washington Post reported,
citing unnamed sources, that one of the "very senior" officials
advising Flynn to contact the Russian envoy was Trump's son-in-law and
senior aide Jared Kushner.
Flynn's
guilty plea, on one federal charge of making false statements to
investigators, came with a pledge to cooperate with Mueller, whose focus
goes beyond possible collusion with Russia to shady business dealings
and whether Trump himself tried to thwart the investigation.
The White House rejected the idea that Flynn
could implicate "anyone" else, as ABC News reported that Flynn would
testify that Trump ordered him to reach out to Moscow — news that sent
Wall Street shares tumbling.
"I
recognise that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong,"
Flynn said in a statement after a brief appearance in federal court in
the US capital.
"My guilty plea and
agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a
decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I
accept full responsibility for my actions."
The
charge normally carries up to five years in prison, but under the terms
of the plea deal, Mueller says he has recommended a lighter sentence of
only up to six months in jail, court filings show.
- Flynn lied over Russia contacts
Flynn
admitted he lied to FBI investigators about his private discussions at
the end of December 2016 with Kislyak about US sanctions imposed on
Moscow by the administration of then president Barack Obama.
At
the time, Flynn was a campaign and transition advisor with no official
US government role, but he was clearly a top candidate to become Trump's
White House national security advisor.
Flynn
eventually was given that post, but was forced to resign in February,
just weeks after the president took office, due to public concerns over
his contacts with Russia.
According
to court documents released by prosecutors, on December 28 last year,
Flynn asked Kislyak to moderate Russia's response to new sanctions and
the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, announced by Obama in retaliation
for Moscow's interference in the 2016 election.
The documents say he took that action based on discussions with "a senior official of the Presidential Transition Team."
After
the December 29 announcement, the Obama administration was openly
puzzled by Moscow's decision not to retaliate, and began investigating
possible interference by Flynn and the Trump campaign.
A
week earlier, under the instruction of "a very senior member" of the
transition team, Flynn also secretly asked Kislyak to defeat or delay a
looming UN Security Council resolution to condemn Israel's settlements
in Palestinian territory, according to court filings.
While
the two interactions do not clearly suggest collusion, they raise
questions about the Trump team's dealings with Moscow before taking
office — and whether they actively worked to undermine Obama's policies.
The
White House, which has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to
Moscow, said Flynn's admitted lies about those meetings "mirror the
false statements to White House officials which resulted in his
resignation."
"Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn," said White House attorney Ty Cobb.
- Trump still denies Russian interference
Since
the first allegations of Russian interference last year, and despite
reports from top US intelligence officials concluding it happened, Trump
has dismissed the notion as "fake news" and an excuse for Democratic
rival Hillary Clinton's loss at the polls.
"Since
the first day I took office, all you hear is the phony Democrat excuse
for losing the election, Russia, Russia, Russia," he tweeted last week.
But Friday's news made clear that Trump's inner circle could increasingly come under the microscope.
For
Trump, the focus is on whether he has tried to stifle the
investigation, including by firing FBI chief James Comey in May, which
could draw obstruction of justice charges, the same charges that forced
president Richard Nixon from office in 1974.
On
social media: Comey posted a biblical verse: "But let justice roll down
like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
"The
one individual that still seems to deny that this is a major issue is
Donald Trump. And I just kind of wonder why," Democratic Senator Mark
Warner told CNN.
- Fourth person charged by Mueller
Three others have been charged in the Mueller probe.
In
October, Trump's one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his
deputy Rick Gates were arrested on money laundering and tax-related
charges.
George Papadopoulos, a Trump
campaign foreign policy advisor, pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to
investigators in a deal that made clear he was cooperating with
investigators.
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