Flynn pleads guilty to lying on Russia links

PresidentDonald Trump’s former top adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guiltyyesterday to lying to the FBI over his contacts with Russia, in adramatic escalation of the probe into possible collusion between theTrump campaign and Moscow.The 58-year-old Flynn — a retiredthree-star Army general — is the fourth, and so far most senior, figureindicted in the sprawling investigation into Russian interference inlast year’s election.He pleaded guilty to one charge of making falsestatements to investigators, in a deal in which he pledged toco-operate with special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s wide-reachinginvestigation into Trump, his family, staff and advisors.The WhiteHouse rejected the idea that Flynn could implicate Trump for collusionwith Moscow, even as court documents said that Flynn had been told by“senior” members of the presidential transition team to make contactwith the Russians.ABC News said in an unconfirmed report that theformer military intelligence chief will testify that Trump himself hadordered him to reach out to the Russians — a report that sent WallStreet briefly tumbling.“I recognise that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong,” Flynn said in a statement.“Myguilty plea and agreement to co-operate with the special counsel’soffice reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family andof our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions.”Flynnadmitted he lied to FBI investigators about his private discussions atthe end of December 2016 with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador,about US sanctions imposed on Moscow by the administration of thenpresident Barack Obama.At the time, Flynn was a campaign andtransition advisor with no official US government role, but it was knownthat he would likely become Trump’s White House national securityadviser.He was forced to resign that post in February, just weeksafter the president took office, due to public concerns over hiscontacts with Russia.In a January 24 interview with investigators,Flynn denied having asked Kislyak to moderate Russia’s response to newsanctions and the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, announced by Obamain retaliation for Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.Afterthe December 29 announcement, the Obama administration was openlypuzzled by Moscow’s decision not to retaliate, and began investigatingpossible interference by Flynn and the Trump campaign.Courtdocuments say Flynn was instructed by “a senior official of thePresidential Transition Team” to discuss holding back on retaliationwith Kislyak.Flynn, who once headed the Defense Intelligence Agency,also admitted he lied to investigators about secretly asking Kislyak onDecember 22 to defeat or delay a looming UN Security Council resolutionto condemn Israel’s settlements in Palestinian territory.The Obamaadministration, in a rare step that shocked its Middle East ally,planned to abstain on the motion rather than veto it as had been done inthe past.In the Security Council case, Flynn was told by “a verysenior member” of the transition team to press Russia to stall or blockthe vote, the court documents show.While the two interactions do notindicate a clear instance of collusion, they raise questions about theTrump team’s dealings with Moscow before taking office — and whetherthey actively worked to undermine Obama’s policies.The White House,which has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to Moscow, said Flynn’sfalse statements “mirror the false statements to White House officialswhich resulted in his resignation in February of this year”.“Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn,” said White House attorney Ty Cobb.ForTrump, the focus is on whether he has tried to stifle theinvestigation, including by firing FBI chief James Comey in May, whichcould draw charges of obstruction of justice, the same charges thatforced president Richard Nixon from office in 1974.Since the firstallegations of Russian interference last year, Trump has dismissed it as“fake news” and an excuse for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’sstunning loss in the election.In January, the country’s topintelligence chiefs said they had strong evidence showing Moscow hadinterfered in the campaign, by hacking and disinformation operations,specifically to boost Trump’s chances of winning.But Trump hasrepeatedly rejected that view. “Since the first day I took office, allyou hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia,Russia, Russia,” he tweeted last week.