THE REAL PROBLEM OF MICHAEL FLYNN

boblonsberry.com ^ | 05/09/17 | Bob Lonsberry

[shortstop]

It's not the 24 days Michael Flynn was a national security adviser that worry me, it's the 33 years he was an Army officer.

How does a guy spend his entire adult life a commissioned soldier and still compromise himself and his position so completely and cavalierly?

When a tree bears bitter fruit, you wonder about the tree.

Michael Flynn clearly used his position to enrich himself, and he actively violated policy to do so. He failed to get permission to receive money from a foreign and hostile power, and then engaged in deception to conceal his conduct.

In doing so, he made himself subject to coercion or blackmail by that foreign power and its intelligence services.

And coincidentally -- or not -- when describing to the vice president of the United States the nature of a conversation with the ambassador of that foreign and hostile power, Michael Flynn lied.

It is clear this man was a compromised bad actor who had rendered himself unworthy of his position and the trust of the American people. This sort of conduct should put people in Fort Leavenworth.

And what's troubling to me is that this sort of full-blown and dangerous misconduct was engaged in by a man who had 30-plus years of supposedly being steeped in the Army values of integrity and trust. Further, over his career he was primarily an Intelligence officer, meaning he has dealt with secrets and security matters for decades.

He ultimately led the Defense Intelligence Agency.

And how such a person, understanding what's at stake and how things are supposed to be done, can sit next to Putin and take a check, and have a chit chat with the Russian ambassador that he keeps on the down low, is unfathomable.

It's the sort of conduct any soldier would be warned away from. It's the sort of conduct any person of integrity, honor and patriotism would know to avoid. It is the sort of conduct that violates regulations, ethics and the law.

And yet Michael Flynn chose to engage in it.

That makes me worry about the culture of Army leadership that produced Michael Flynn. It either failed to root out his sinister predilections or it encouraged them.

This man was commissioned in 1981, at the latter height of the Cold War, and he knew specifically the evils of the Soviet Union and Russian imperialism. And yet he chose to -- for money -- sit beside Vladimir Putin. It was two longtime intelligence officers sitting beside one another and one was giving money to the other.

Such high-level contacts might not necessarily be bad. They might actually be spycraft. It is possible a retired three-star American general was trying to influence or surveil the leader of Russia. That would be a reasonable intelligence operation.

But it's something that would be disclosed to the American government, and which would comply with American law and Army regulation.

Michael Flynn's Kremlin moonlighting did neither of those things.

And then he lied to the vice president, completely disqualifying himself.

And my question remains: How could our Army have had this man for three decades and not have either discovered him or ennobled him? How did a person of such easy virtue gain such rank and become the nation's top military intelligence officer?

And if he was crooked in 2016 and 2017, how was he in 2001 and 1995 and every other year and day of his military career?

Donald Trump has said that he wants to rebuild the military's numbers and capability. He may also want to re-examine its culture. After decades of political generals and ass-covering officers, and eight years of the force feeding of political correctness and social engineering, and a general pussification of training standards and rigor, it might be good to look into the military heart and see what it's all about.

Michael Flynn -- like David Petraeus before him -- has shown us that brass on the shoulder does not mean character in the heart. We need to make sure this isn't a broader problem of senior military culture.

Like I said, it's not the 24 days Michael Flynn was a national security adviser that bother me, it's the 33 years he was an Army officer.

[blueunicorn6]

I’ll bet you Flynn had a low time on his two mile run.

[HLPhat]

>>The Age of Reason and Modern Science and creation of the US Constitution was only possible with a Christian worldview.

"ESTABLISH THE LAW FOR EDUCTATING THE COMMON PEOPLE"

John 8:30

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

NIV

 

[marron]

So, yet another fact-free smear against Flynn. I still haven’t seen what exactly he is supposed to have done wrong. I have to conclude the answer is, nothing.

It isn’t that he is owned by the Russians, I suspect, but that he *isn’t* owned by the Saudis. Or George Soros.

I’d like to see an accounting of who takes money from who, but lets include the Saudis, and the Chinese, and Ukraine, and Soros. Lets get it all out on the table.

[blueunicorn6]

First off, military Officers are drawn from our civilian population. Most Officers only become part of the military culture when they are 18. Their character is pretty well formed by then.

And what message did “We The People” send to the military when we elected Bill Clinton as Commander-In-Chief twice and Barack Obama as Commander-In-Chief twice?

[Vehmgericht]

I’m retired DIA. Even the stupidest DIA employee knows that if you talk to the Russian Ambassador on the phone it will be recorded. In Flynn’s case, recorded by people who wanted to destroy him. Our entire system is corrupt. Why is Maxine Waters not in jail? The entire Obama Administration was a criminal operation.

[combat_boots]

Thank you. Great post.

[mcshot]

The giving of our top secrets to level the playing field bothers me every time(daily) I see Chinese developments and improvements in rocketry, weaponry and space exploration.

[Mollypitcher1]

I sure as hell trust Flynn more than Rice and Yates.

I don’t think it’s over.
..................................................
I agree

[Mollypitcher1]

The string of their (Clinton) crimes is too long to list. May they rot in hell after we string them up.

[remaxagnt]

Flynn knows of all the shady deals by deep state he knows of all the illegal stuff that’s been going on so he is a liability. So they had to destroy him. This all smoke and mirrors..

[Responsibility2nd]

I believe that. Sure do.

The question is - - when Flynn is called on to testify before the Senate - will he spill his guts? Telling all he knows? Dragging Obama down with him?

Or plead the fifth?

My money is on the fifth. He weasels out and shuts up,

[shortstop]

Lying to the Vice President is not a reason for termination of a high security employee?

[marron]

I still think there is more to that story. I get what you are saying, though.

[JimRed]

The bigger issue is how many serving voting politicians are taking foreign money or gray money raised offshore like Soros - who makes major donations to the The McCain Foundation which also gets Saudi money

All political donations have to ANONYMOUS. You can't sell influence if you don't know who is buying. Americans should be allowed to donate to any candidate or party, in any amount they wish; that is FREEDOM. But a result in exchange for a donation is BRIBERY, a crime. Lock 'em both up.

[JimRed]

Did Obama set up the General to take a fall? Was Flynn under orders to do what he did for the greater good of the Country?

Many of us considered his being fired by Obama a resume enhancement. How bad could he be if the enemy fired him?

[aces]

I think you are correct.

[zeestephen]

Re: “Don’t forget, he [Flynn] was fired by Obama because he wasn’t a Islam lover.”

I thought Flynn also had a lobbying relationship with the Islamic dictator of Turkey, Recep Erdogan.

[Sacajaweau]

So on November 10th...Obama warned Trump while meeting him at the Whitehouse. And here was Flynn, still in the wings and still with his Obama issued "Security Clearance" and Obama told Trump exactly what....since Yates was not in the picture for a whole month and a half.

So why wasn't this out for his confirmation hearing? Cuz it didn't exist yet. It's a hatchet job.

Was he truly compromised or was this just another Yates "opinion" like her immigration fiasco.

Me thinks she's really, really p**** that Trump fired her. She didn't expect it at all. She was after Rice's job. High hopes...oops there goes another rubber tree plant.

[wastoute]

Thank you. Truth no one wants to hear. Still true, though.

[mac_truck]

I agree. Flynn knows about Islam. For this, the opposition is after him.

Its much more than that...

In 2012 the DIA under Gen. Flynn developed intelligence that accurately predicted the rise of ISIS and named the Sunni Muslim countries who were going to support it.

A detailed classified report on this subject made it all the way into the hands of the Congressional intelligence leadership.General Flynn has since confirmed that he used the report to argue policy with the Obama White House and got fired for his efforts.

Obama feigned ignorance and surprise at the rise of ISIS when they emerged in 2014 when in fact he (as well as Congressional leadership) was fully aware of its genesis and the CIA's involvement for two years.

Only through a FOIA lawsuit made by Judicial Watch were sections of the report declassified.

You can read more about that 2012 report HERE and HERE