Posted on 12/04/2017 9:23:09 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
Why did Gen. Mike Flynn lie to the FBI about his December 2016 conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak?
Why did he not tell the FBI the truth?
As national security adviser to the president-elect, Flynn had called the ambassador. Message: Tell President Putin not to overreact to President Obama's expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats. Trump will be president in three weeks, and we are committed to a new relationship.
Not only was this initiative defensible, it proved successful.
Putin accepted the loss of his diplomats and country houses on Long lsland and the Eastern Shore. Rather than expel U.S. diplomats in retaliation, he invited them and their families to the Kremlin's New Year's parties.
"Great move...(by V. Putin)," tweeted Trump, "I always knew he was very smart." This columnist concurred:
"Among our Russophobes, one can hear the gnashing of teeth.
"Clearly, Putin believes the Trump presidency offers Russia the prospect of a better relationship with the United States. He appears to want this, and most Americans seem to want the same. After all, Hillary Clinton, who accused Trump of being 'Putin's puppet,' lost."
Flynn, it now appears, was not freelancing, but following instructions. His deputy, K. T. McFarland, sent an email to six Trump advisers saying that Obama, by expelling the Russians, was trying to "box Trump in diplomatically."
"If there is a tit-for-tat escalation," warned McFarland, "Trump will have difficulty improving relations with Russia." Exactly.
Flynn was trying to prevent Russian retaliation. Yet, as the ex-director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, he had to know his call to Kislyak was being monitored and recorded.
So, again, why would he lie to the FBI about a conversation, the contents of which were surely known to the people who sent the FBI to question him?
The other charge of lying about a call with Kislyak was Flynn's request for Russian help in getting postponed or canceled a Security Council vote on a resolution denouncing Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
Obama's White House was backing the anti-Israel resolution. And Bibi Netanyahu had asked Trump to weigh in to block the vote.
Bottom line: Flynn, acting on instructions, tried to prevent a U.N. condemnation of Israel, and to dissuade Russia from a mass expulsion of U.S. diplomats, lest this poison the well against a rapprochement for which the American people had voted.
In the court of public opinion, Flynn's actions would find broad support. Rather than deny knowledge of them, Trump should have taken credit for them.
Why the general would lie to the FBI about conversations he had to know U.S. intelligence had recorded is a puzzling question, but now also an irrelevant one, water over the dam.
For Trump's general is now the newly conscripted collaborator of the media-Mueller-Democrat-deep state conspiracy to overturn the election of 2016 and bring down the Trump presidency.
Remarkable.
After 18 months, we have no evidence Trump colluded with Russia in hacking the emails of the DNC or John Podesta, which is what the FBI investigation was supposedly about.
There is no conclusive evidence Flynn committed a crime when, as national security adviser-designate, he tried to prevent Obama from sabotaging the policies Trump had run on -- and won on.
Yet there is evidence Russian intelligence agents colluded with a British spy in the pay of the oppo research arm of the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign -- to find dirt on Donald Trump.
And there is evidence James Comey's FBI wanted to hire the British spy who appeared to have access to the Russian agents who appeared to possess all that wonderful dirt on the Donald.
It is hard to see how this ends well.
This weekend, after Flynn's admission he lied to the FBI, Beltway media were slavering like Pavlov's dogs at anticipated indictments and plea bargains by present and former White House aides, Trump family members, and perhaps Trump himself.
The joy on the TV talk shows was transparent.
Yet the media have already been badly damaged; first, by the relentless Trump attacks and the cheering for those attacks by a huge slice of the country; second, by their reflexive reaction. The media have behaved exactly like the "enemy" Trump said they were.
In this us-versus-them country, the media now seem to relish the role of "them." The old proud journalistic boast to be objective and neutral reporters, observers and commentators is gone.
We are all partisans now.
As last Friday's sudden 300-point drop in the Dow reveals, if Trump's enemies bring him down, they will almost surely crash the markets and abort the recovery that took hold in Trump's first year.
And if the establishment, repudiated by Trump's victory, thinks it will be restored to the nation's good graces if they destroy Trump, they are whistling past the graveyard.
When Caesar falls, the cheering for Brutus and Cassius tends to die down rather quickly. Then their turn comes
Are you really an artist?
I’m delighted to see an article from Pat Buchanan but thought he was banned from FreeRepublic. I tried posting something else of his a few days ago.
You’re much harder on Flynn than Trump is. I think that Trump sees him as a good man who is being shafted by very wicked people.
I did say “if”, while Trump has said he lied.
Absolutely.
No problem, I was almost not going to reply.
I understand where you are coming from.
The man served our country for a long time.
Like Trump said it is a shame.
Good analysis. I didn’t see that tack on Conyers and thought it was to freeze out Roy Moore.
Trump needs Hatch, not Romney; and Roy Moore, not Strange/Jones/Alred/McConnell.
If President Elect Trump and Gen Flynn had been involved with Russia before the election, then why was Flynn asked by Trump to establish communication and to communicate somewhat desperate and critically important policy related information and request with Russia and numerous other governments almost a month after the election, between December 3rd-8th from what has been published?
As well, from the Mark Levin show late last week, the same request from President Elect Trump, which included establishing communication with Russia, also included a number of other nations by name!
It can be shown, Bill Clinton, the Obamanation, and other president elects had substantially more subversive interaction with foreign governments, in a timeline significantly shorter than Trump did after his election!
Hillary, in part because of Bill, and in part because of being SoS, already had established ongoing contacts with heads of state around the world, and she wasn’t even elected!
Additionally, while I am at it, how about the Logan Act (1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S.C. § 953, January 30, 1799), which is now being reported to have been used to by Obama to legally establish (FALSE) legal cover to launch investigations and surveillance against Trumps entire election team!
Now that The Logan Act is fully on the table because of Obama, to illegally investigate team Trump, how about we USE The Logan Act NOW!
As has been reported much lately, The Logan Act simply made it a crime for a CIVILIAN American to intervene in, or interrupt, official US foreign policy an affairs.
**Now that Obama IS A CIVILIAN again, running around the world, meeting with foreign leaders, and making statements to wait until Trump is out of office, before changing their own positions on various internal and external policy, and even to take stronger positions in the face of CURRENT US FOREIGN POLICY under Trump - is this not precisely what THE LOGAN ACT was designed to keep from happening?!?!
Hey, Obama started it, and used it unlawfully against Trumps election team!
Ironically, as a civilian, it is Obama who is actually directly acting in violation of the Logan Act in my opinion!
As well, now that Obama has relied on the Logan Act, could we not use the same “Logan Act” case for George Soros!
George Soros proactively undermined US Foreign Policy under Bush 43, and is now using his resources externally to undermine US Foreign Policy under President Trump!
Unlike the mass media, which is either downplaying the Logan Act, or is now trying to connect The Logan Act with Trump, if a Soldier can be thrown in prison for “Sedition”, why should a civilian be allowed to use billions of dollars, and be allowed to undermine the US by interacting with foreign governments against the United States?
I know Republicans and conservative will not use it, but Obama opened a can of worms with the Logan Act against Trump, to actually subvert the will of the American Electorate, why can’t we use it legitimately, for the purpose it was actually written with Obama running around the world in defiance of current US Foreign Policy!
I am probably not making sense, as I am tired and need to stop.
Bingo. They were going after both of them for being unregistered agents of a foreign governemnt.
The lesson here is never talk to the FBI about anything. If they ask your opinion about the weather, refuse to comment. Flynn is no different than Martha Stewart. You are a busy person and you think you can ‘charm’ these agents into letting you get back to your own affairs ASAP. And why not? They didn’t put you under oath or anything? Flynn’s only sin here was not paying attention to recent history regarding the FBI’s manufactured process crimes.
Oh, that’s just wrong! Not you, the arrest.
Sounds like entrapment. It certainly isn't lying under oath if there is no understanding that its an interview.
Yep - proven to have lied about something that wasn’t a problem, made statements about wanting to protect his son, so he has zero credibility.
Pat mentioning Caesar doesn’t add a single bit to your observation’s value. There is no there there, period.
People, and FReepers, forget that the muslims intent on the Garland massacre were egged on by their FBI handler, who even followed them to the venue and was arrested shortly thereafter as he tried to flee.
The FBI was complicit in the attempted mass murder of conservatives, and no one has been taken to task for that.
That is a crime. Those people need to be punished, and if necessary, executed.
The Day of the Rope Approaches.
I for one stand ready. I’m good at knots.
Picking nits. You would have to go a whole lot further back than Garland TX for their 'first'...perhaps further back than even Waco TX.
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