In the last hour, the special counsel's office filed its response to the sentencing memo for General Michael Flynn. Flynn's lawyers had argued that the unusual nature of the FBI "interview" of him should mitigate towards his having a reduced sentence. For example, the FBI did not follow its standard practice of warning the person being interviewed that lying to the FBI was a federal crime. The FBI also told Flynn that he need not have an attorney present. Once the judge saw this memo for Flynn, he ordered the special counsel to file all documents about the interview and also to respond in detail.
In this response, the special counsel argues that Flynn had lied to others like the media and members of the incoming administration about his meeting with the Russian ambassador, so Flynn had "chosen" to lie. This is a silly point. It's not a crime to lie to the media. Mueller well knows that. It can't be that Flynn's sentence for lying to an FBI agent would be affected by his perfectly legal conduct with others.
The special counsel also argues that Flynn knew that lying to the FBI is a crime. After all, Flynn had been the head of the DIA a few years earlier. Again, this misses the point. Flynn may have known that lying to the FBI was a crime. On the other hand, it appears that he did not know that this was a formal interview by the FBI for which he was required to be truthful. It was treated in a very casual way. Indeed, just yesterday, Jim Comey admitted that he had pulled a fast one by treating this interview in this way.
Despite all this, the key in the special counsel memo is in these few sentences contained in Andy McCabe's memo about setting up the interview:
" LTG Flynn then explained that he had been trying to 'build relationships' with the Russians, and that he had calls in which he 'exchanged condolences.' He then stated that I probably knew what was said [section redacted]."
Remember, Flynn had run the Defense Intelligence Agency for a number of years. He well knew that the phone calls of the Russian Ambassador would have been intercepted by US intelligence. In other words, he knew that his phone conversation with the Russian ambassador had been recorded. He almost certainly so stated to McCabe in that final sentence of the quote above.
Think about that. Flynn knew he had been recorded. He also knew that the FBI had that recording. The FBI couldn't have been focused on what was said in the conversation; they already had every word of it. Even so, Mueller is accusing Flynn of having lied about what was said in that conversation. Really? Flynn is not a dummy. He wouldn't have intentionally lied about what was in a recording that the FBI already had.
I think this is a bombshell report. It shows that Mueller created a bogus crime just so that he could "get" Flynn. It's a disgusting and unacceptable tactic from the special counsel.
If I were the judge, I would call in the special counsel to testify under oath exactly how all this came about. Absent some really good explanation, I would then toss the guilty plea and the conviction and dismiss the charges against Flynn.
In this response, the special counsel argues that Flynn had lied to others like the media and members of the incoming administration about his meeting with the Russian ambassador, so Flynn had "chosen" to lie. This is a silly point. It's not a crime to lie to the media. Mueller well knows that. It can't be that Flynn's sentence for lying to an FBI agent would be affected by his perfectly legal conduct with others.
The special counsel also argues that Flynn knew that lying to the FBI is a crime. After all, Flynn had been the head of the DIA a few years earlier. Again, this misses the point. Flynn may have known that lying to the FBI was a crime. On the other hand, it appears that he did not know that this was a formal interview by the FBI for which he was required to be truthful. It was treated in a very casual way. Indeed, just yesterday, Jim Comey admitted that he had pulled a fast one by treating this interview in this way.
Despite all this, the key in the special counsel memo is in these few sentences contained in Andy McCabe's memo about setting up the interview:
" LTG Flynn then explained that he had been trying to 'build relationships' with the Russians, and that he had calls in which he 'exchanged condolences.' He then stated that I probably knew what was said [section redacted]."
Remember, Flynn had run the Defense Intelligence Agency for a number of years. He well knew that the phone calls of the Russian Ambassador would have been intercepted by US intelligence. In other words, he knew that his phone conversation with the Russian ambassador had been recorded. He almost certainly so stated to McCabe in that final sentence of the quote above.
Think about that. Flynn knew he had been recorded. He also knew that the FBI had that recording. The FBI couldn't have been focused on what was said in the conversation; they already had every word of it. Even so, Mueller is accusing Flynn of having lied about what was said in that conversation. Really? Flynn is not a dummy. He wouldn't have intentionally lied about what was in a recording that the FBI already had.
I think this is a bombshell report. It shows that Mueller created a bogus crime just so that he could "get" Flynn. It's a disgusting and unacceptable tactic from the special counsel.
If I were the judge, I would call in the special counsel to testify under oath exactly how all this came about. Absent some really good explanation, I would then toss the guilty plea and the conviction and dismiss the charges against Flynn.
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