Michael Flynn to Plead Guilty to Lying to the FBI About Contacts with Russia
Former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will plead guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian government officials.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has scheduled a plea hearing for Flynn that is set to take place at 10:30 a.m. ET. In the hearing, Flynn will plead guilty to making “materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent” statements to FBI agents this past January.
Specifically, Flynn falsely told the FBI that he did not tell the Russian ambassador to the United States that the country should “refrain” from escalating tensions between the two countries in the wake of new sanctions leveled against it by the outgoing Obama administration.
The Russian government did not retaliate against the Obama administration’s new sanctions late last year, and President Trump himself praised this decision as “very smart” on Twitter.
Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016
The Trump tweet was subsequently promoted by the Russian embassy of the United States’ official Twitter account.
Developing…
No comments: