Trump pardons Michael Flynn
Published Date: 11/25/2020
Source: axios.com

President Trump on Wednesday pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to FBI agents about his conversations with a former Russian ambassador.

Why it matters: It is the first of multiple pardons expected in the coming weeks, as Axios scooped Tuesday night.


What they're saying: "It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!" Trump tweeted.

  • Roughly an hour before Trump announced the pardon over Twitter, Flynn tweeted a Bible verse.
  • "This pardon is undeserved, unprincipled, and one more stain on President Trump’s rapidly diminishing legacy," House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) responded in a statement on Wednesday.
  • House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy wrote on Twitter: "What happened to @GenFlynn was a national disgrace. ... President @realDonaldTrump is right to pardon the respected three-star general."
  • House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) accused Trump of abusing the pardon power "to reward his friends and political allies" in a statement.

The big picture: Flynn's pardon is the culmination of a four-year political and legal saga that began with the FBI's probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian government in the 2016 election.

Between the lines: In his final weeks in office, Trump has the potential to expunge his friends and supporters of all federal criminal convictions, Axios' Jonathan Swan and Zachary Basu report.

This is a breaking story. Come back for more details.