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The Air Force Times' Sean Naylor scored an interview with Major General Mike Flynn, director of intelligence for General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan. There isn't a lot new here to longtime readers of The Long War Journal and Threat Matrix. Flynn gives an overview of the Taliban groups, notes that al Qaeda operatives serve as combat enablers for the Taliban, estimates Taliban forces in Afghanistan at between 19,000 to 27,000 fighters, and said Pakistan remains a major haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda. Of particular interest are Flynn's comments on Iran and the role...

The official media account of how the intelligence community gained the transcript of incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn talking to Ambassador Sergey Kisliyak on December 29th, 2016, surrounds “incidental collection” as a result of contact with an agent of a foreign power. Meaning the Flynn call was picked up as the U.S. intelligence apparatus was conducting surveillance on Russian Ambassador Kisliyak. If this version of events were accurate (it’s not), it would fall under FISA-702 collection: the lawful monitoring of a foreign agent (Kislyak) who has contact with a U.S. person (Flynn). In order to review the identity of...

One of the reasons why the Flynn legal situation is so interesting is not really because of Flynn himself; but rather because the Flynn situation is a likely example of President Obama’s surveillance network in operation. Tenuous legal theories (Logan Act) and obscure laws (technical FARA violations) appear to have been exploited by DOJ administration officials, in close ideological alignment with the Lawfare Group.  In association with overall Obama administration officials, the fellow travelers used the legal system to create a DC surveillance network.At the 30,000 ft. level Obama’s surveillance network looks like this:• White House identifies a target; •passes...

When General Michael Flynn entered into the seemingly coerced plea agreement with the special counsel team and prosecutor Brandon Van Grack (November 30, 2017), he gave up the right to defense discovery in his case. In hindsight this will likely be viewed a mistake. (h/t Techno Fog) During a court appearance today by new attorney Mrs. Sidney Powell, the topic of needing a classified security clearance -to review documents- was raised. The DOJ responded to the assertion by saying no classified information was provided to the prior Flynn defense team, therefore Ms. Powell doesn’t need not carry that concern.

On November 10, 2017, we reported how the Wall Street Journal had received information from anonymous sources who said that General Flynn and his son Michael were involved in a plot to kidnap Muslim cleric and return him to Turkey. The Wall Street Journal reported – Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn’s alleged role in a plan to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric living in the U.S. and deliver him to Turkey in return for millions of dollars, according to people familiar with the investigation. (Of course in the aftermath of Obama...

On November 10, 2017, we reported how the Wall Street Journal had received information from anonymous sources who said that General Flynn and his son Michael were involved in a plot to kidnap Muslim cleric and return him to Turkey. The Wall Street Journal reported – Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn’s alleged role in a plan to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric living in the U.S. and deliver him to Turkey in return for millions of dollars, according to people familiar with the investigation. (Of course in the aftermath of Obama...

"What is Michael Flynn’s new “GREAT LAWYER, Sidney Powell” up to? And what might it mean for Flynn and those seeking the truth about Spyggate [sic]?" "Let’s start with a quick review. On November 30, 2017, Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, Flynn, with lying to FBI agents about conversations he had in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. The next day, Flynn pled guilty to the offense, pursuant to a plea agreement before federal judge Rudolph Contreras." "Less than a week later, for a still-unexplained reason, Flynn’s case was transferred to...

If the Trump-Russia election collusion hoax was a movie, Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak would have a starring role. From Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ fateful recusal to National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s resignation to the aftermath of FBI Director James Comey’s firing, the former Russian diplomat made more than just a few consequential appearances. The question is, were these incidental cameos or was Kislyak following a script written for him by the collusion fraudsters?

When Attorney General William Barr stated "spying did occur" against the 2016 Trump campaign, most attention was focused on the FBI's surveillance of former junior foreign policy aide Carter Page. But the spying Barr was thinking of, and which he said may or may not have been legally authorized, is more likely to be that carried out by Stefan Halper, a former Republican operative and White House aide who became a foreign policy academic with close ties to both American and British intelligence. One could be forgiven for believing Halper was a creation of the spy novelist John Le Carré....

This is the attorney that has taken over General Flynn's case. WOW!

Embattled Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has hired well known defense attorney Sidney Powell to represent him before his sentencing hearing in Washington D.C.’s federal court. Flynn, who fired his attorneys last week, will still fully cooperate with the government in all cases pending, Powell told SaraACarter.com. Flynn’s former legal counsel Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony offered no explanation for their abrupt dismissal telling SaraACarter.com they “decline to comment.” Powell is the author of the New York Times best seller and tell-all book Licensed To Lie, which exposed the corruption within the justice system. The book is based on the case...

Sidney Powell will represent General Michael Flynn. “He is and will continue to cooperate with the government in all aspects,” Powell told SaraACarter.com. “He and his family truly appreciate all the cards and letters of support from countless people and the contributions to the defense fund which are even more important now.” Powell noted that Flynn’s case file, “is massive” and “it will take me at least 90 days to review it.” In a recent interview with The Epoch Times Sidney Powell blasted the appalling two-tiered judicial system in the United States today where General Michael Flynn can get set...

Former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn has hired attorney Sidney Powell as his new counsel, Hill.TV has learned. "I'm honored to be representing General Flynn, who i've long considered an American hero. The General and his family want to thank everyone across the country for their cards and contributions to his legal defense fund. He is going to continue to cooperate with the government, pursuant to his plea agreement," Powell told Hill.TV in a phone call. Powell is author of the new book, "Licensed to Lie, Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice." The book's description reads "Licensed to Lie...

Audio at link (sorry) A federal judge on Thursday released the audio of a voicemail that then-Trump attorney John Down left in late 2017 asking lawyers for former national security adviser Michael Flynn for a "heads up" if he knew of information implicating President Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller examined the November 2017 message in his obstruction of justice inquiry. Dowd left the voicemail for Flynn’s then-attorney Robert Kelner after they withdrew from the joint defense agreement with Trump’s attorneys. In it, Dowd asks Flynn’s attorney’s for a “heads up” if there is information that “implicates the president.” Dowd also...

UPDATE (3:55pm EDT): The lawyer change (motion for leave) was denied by Judge Sullivan due to a technicality in the filing (no accompanying order, and failure to outline method of notification to Flynn). They are free to refile (probably will). Previously: This is a very interesting development and may well indicate a change in strategy; or, even more interesting, the execution of a pre-planned strategy, for General Michael Flynn. There is a possibility, with legal distance happening as a result of Weissmann and Mueller’s investigation concluding, that Michael Flynn may be shifting to offense. Two separate court filings today show:...

10 pages:

Prosecutors have released a less-redacted version of an FBI memo describing the interview agents had with President Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn in January 2017. The document shows that Flynn told investigators that Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak asked him during a Dec. 28, 2016, phone call to set up a “VTC,” an apparent reference to a video teleconference, between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Flynn told investigators that Kislyak requested that the video conference occur on Jan. 21, the day after Trump was inaugurated as president, according to the memo. Flynn has since pleaded guilty to lying...

This is a very interesting development and may well indicate a change in strategy; or, even more interesting, the execution of a pre-planned strategy, for General Michael Flynn. There is a possibility, with legal distance happening as a result of Weissmann and Mueller’s investigation concluding, that Michael Flynn may be shifting to offense. Two separate court filings today show: (1) Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has fired his legal team and retained new counsel; and, (2) the DOJ is filing the evidentiary documents (possibly Joe Pientka 302 and Kislyak transcript?) under seal.

The Mueller report appears to have been carefully worded by the lawyers working under former special counsel Robert Mueller, and perhaps Mueller himself, in a manner designed to inflict political damage on President Donald Trump. ... We know that sections of the report were selectively edited to provide damaging portrayals. ... there are troubling and disturbing details surrounding a heavily used witness in the Mueller report, George Nader. ... access to the underlying material used in the Mueller report is extremely limited. ...documents released in the ongoing Flynn case, a rebuttal letter from the lawyers mentioned in the Mueller report,...

A court filing Thursday revealed that Flynn had notified his attorneys Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony that he is “terminating” them as his counsel and has already hired new lawyers to replace them. (Reuters) – Former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn has dismissed the legal team that represented him in his dealings with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and retained new counsel, according to a court filing on Thursday. The move to dismiss lawyers Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony of Covington & Burling LLP comes ahead of Flynn’s sentencing, which was postponed in December after the judge in...