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To say he lied was an exaggeration - all he asked for was for Russia not to retaliate and that the sanctions would be dealt with when Trump is President. There was no scheming or plotting over sanctions. Trump said at his press conference he didn't even think Flynn really did anything wrong, and Trump didn't even tell Pence until the media came out with the story. Heck, the media couldn't prove he did anything illegal, and God knows they would have loved to. Even the New York Times admitted the discussion were "ambiguous" enough where Trump could keep Flynn. That explanation doesn't fly with me. Flynn was not liked by the deep state that was out to get him.

I would highly recommend this article which articulates my point as to the bogus lie explanation:

The Political Assassination of Michael Flynn

It's not even clear that Flynn lied. He says in his resignation letter that he did not deliberately leave out elements of his conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak when he recounted them to Vice President Mike Pence. The New York Times and Washington Post reported that the transcript of the phone call reviewed over the weekend by the White House could be read different ways. One White House official with knowledge of the conversations told me that the Russian ambassador raised the sanctions to Flynn and that Flynn responded that the Trump team would be taking office in a few weeks and would review Russia policy and sanctions. That's neither illegal nor improper.

What's more, the Washington Post reported Monday night that last month Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general, had informed the White House that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak and that he could be susceptible to blackmail because he misled Pence about it. If it was the lie to Pence that sunk Flynn, why was he not fired at the end of January?

A better explanation here is that Flynn was just thrown under the bus. His tenure as national security adviser, the briefest in U.S. history, was rocky from the start. When Flynn was attacked in the media for his ties to Russia, he was not allowed by the White House to defend himself. Over the weekend, he was instructed not to speak to the press when he was in the fight for his political life. His staff was not even allowed to review the transcripts of his call to the Russian ambassador.

(Snip)

"In the end, it was Trump's decision to cut Flynn loose. In doing this he caved in to his political and bureaucratic opposition. Nunes told me Monday night that this will not end well. "First it's Flynn, next it will be Kellyanne Conway, then it will be Steve Bannon, then it will be Reince Priebus," he said. Put another way, Flynn is only the appetizer. Trump is the entree."

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-02-14/the-political-assassination-of-michael-flynn

Nunes is a good guy, and he is one who sees this Russia BS for what it is.

The Democrats certainly think honesty and integrity are big deals...when Republicans are in office, and now they are using the exact same attack to take out Sessions that they did with Flynn. Remember, Flynn was the first appetizer.