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THREAD-- How did Trump know Flynn was lying to the FBI about discussions with Kislyak *before* he fired him?
@realDonaldTrump "ambushed" @GenFlynn with a question that the FBI (curiously) did not ask.
Cc @STUinSD @Cab39633165
@realDonaldTrump "ambushed" @GenFlynn with a question that the FBI (curiously) did not ask.
Cc @STUinSD @Cab39633165
Trump tweeted this out shortly after Flynn pled guilty: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618?s=20
When Trump tweeted that out, the media attacked Trump by falsely reporting he had changed his story. https://www.npr.org/2017/12/04/568393391/trumps-tweet-about-flynn-lying-to-fbi-raises-questions
“It’s unclear now why Trump would cite lying to the FBI as a reason for firing Flynn. Doing so suggests the president knew at the time that Flynn had done something that is against the law...” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-alters-story-on-why-he-fired-flynn
Well, let’s clear it up for all of you… @CalWd @KThomasDC @AP @PBS @NPR @johnson_carrie @NPRKelly
Recall what the *stated* reasons were at the time of Flynn's firing…
Recall what the *stated* reasons were at the time of Flynn's firing…
Flynn had “misled the vice president and others.” Trump had to fire Flynn because there was an “eroding level of trust.”
Trump NEVER CLAIMED Flynn DID NOT lie to the FBI. @jessicataylor https://www.npr.org/2017/02/14/515215088/white-house-press-secretary-says-trump-fired-flynn-as-national-security-adviser
Trump NEVER CLAIMED Flynn DID NOT lie to the FBI. @jessicataylor https://www.npr.org/2017/02/14/515215088/white-house-press-secretary-says-trump-fired-flynn-as-national-security-adviser
But what about saying this just before Flynn's sentencing was delayed? 
“Well the FBI said Michael Flynn, a general and a great person, they said he didn’t lie. And Mueller said: ‘Well, maybe he did.’ And now they’re all having a big dispute, so I think it’s a great thing that the judge is looking into that situation…” https://apnews.com/c74ab451f27441bba5fe0f577579de42
Nope-- that doesn't prove anything. Let's clear this up for you also @APFactCheck @ChadSDay @etuckerAP
Trump stated that "they" [the FBI] said Flynn did not lie…
... Trump never argued that Flynn misled the FBI.
IT WAS THE *FBI* WHO SAID FLYNN DID NOT LIE.
Trump NEVER made that claim.
... Trump never argued that Flynn misled the FBI.
IT WAS THE *FBI* WHO SAID FLYNN DID NOT LIE.
Trump NEVER made that claim.
This thread will show that Trump simply conducted his own research and reached his own conclusion...
Flynn LIED.
Trump PROVED Flynn was lying….. in real time...
Of course, the FBI knew that as well… yet…… the FBI initially concluded Flynn was not being deceptive…
Why?
Flynn LIED.
Trump PROVED Flynn was lying….. in real time...
Of course, the FBI knew that as well… yet…… the FBI initially concluded Flynn was not being deceptive…
Why?
There is a reason the FBI initially covered-up Flynn's lie, but first let's examine how Trump proved Flynn was lying...
1/12/17-- David Ignatius is the first to report Flynn had spoken with Kislyak. A media frenzy ensues. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-did-obama-dawdle-on-russias-hacking/2017/01/12/75f878a0-d90c-11e6-9a36-1d296534b31e_story.html
1/15/17-- VP-elect Pence goes on TV claiming Flynn did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak. He based his report on having personally questioned Flynn about his calls with Kislyak.
1/24/17-- Flynn is interviewed in the White House by FBI agents Strzok and Pientka.
1/26/17-- Acting AG Sally Yates visits White House Counsel, Don McGahn, to report DOJ/FBI concerns about Flynn.
1/26/17-- Acting AG Sally Yates visits White House Counsel, Don McGahn, to report DOJ/FBI concerns about Flynn.
2/2/17—John Eisenberg, NSC Counsel, reviews the underlying information relating to Flynn’s calls with Kislyak and prepares a memo. Unsure of what Flynn has told the FBI, Eisenberg and McGahn cannot be certain whether Flynn has any criminal exposure.
2/9/17—WaPo reports that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak. @VP Pence , McGahn, @Reince Priebus, and others review the underlying information. McGahn and Priebus conclude Flynn lied and should be terminated.
A "leaked" memo written on 1/29/18 by Trump's legal team to SC Mueller sheds light on the activities taking place inside the White House during this crisis.
The memo heavily references McGahn's real time account,dated 2/15/17… @ByronYork https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/newly-leaked-memo-previously-unknown-evidence-michael-flynn-case
<quote>
Yates expressed two principal concerns during the meeting...
1) that Flynn may have made false representations to others in the administration...
2) that Flynn's potentially false statements could make him susceptible to foreign influence or blackmail...
Yates expressed two principal concerns during the meeting...
1) that Flynn may have made false representations to others in the administration...
2) that Flynn's potentially false statements could make him susceptible to foreign influence or blackmail...
Yates claimed that Flynn's statements to the FBI were similar to those she understood he made to... Spicer and the vice president...
DOJ leadership would not advise the White House that transcripts of the calls existed, and of concerns about the content of those transcripts, until Jan. 26, 2017, and even then, when asked by the White House,the DOJ refused to confirm that an investigation was underway.
It was unclear from the meeting with Yates whether an action could be taken without jeopardizing an ongoing investigation...
President Trump asked McGahn to further look into the issue as well as finding out more about the [Kislyak] calls.
COMMENT: McGahn's inclusion of the phrase "without jeopardizing an ongoing investigation" seems to indicate the White House was not trying to obstruct the Flynn probe. @ByronYork
NOTE: McGahn asked Yates to return to the White House the next day, Jan. 27.
Yates was unwilling to confirm or deny that there was an ongoing investigation but did indicate that the DOJ would not object to the White House taking action against Flynn...
Yates also indicated that the DOJ would not object to the White House disclosing how the DOJ obtained the information relayed to the White House regarding Flynn's calls with Ambassador Kislyak...
It seems quite unlikely that if an ongoing DOJ investigation of Lt. Gen. Flynn was underway, the DOJ would approve its key investigation methods and sources being publicized...
Lt. Gen. Flynn had told both White House counsel and chief of staff at least twice that the FBI agents had told him he would not be charged...
<end quote>
<end quote>
COMMENT: McGahn understood the DOJ had recordings of Flynn-Kislyak calls... and the FBI had not revoked Flynn’s security clearance. In light of these facts, and DOJ’s refusal to answer specific questions, the White House concluded there was no investigation of Flynn. @ByronYork
The White House determined this was the path the FBI was taking even though they believed Flynn was lying to everybody.
At the time, CNN even reported that charges against Flynn were not expected. @evanperez https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/politics/fbi-not-expected-to-pursue-charges-against-flynn/index.html
Also, recall that in March 2017…
Comey told the House Intel Cmte that the agents "saw nothing that indicated to them that [Flynn] knew he was lying to them."
Comey told the House Intel Cmte that the agents "saw nothing that indicated to them that [Flynn] knew he was lying to them."
And Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Cmte, wrote that Comey "led us to believe … that the Justice Department was unlikely to prosecute [Flynn] for false statements made in that interview."
And the White House was correct to reach this conclusion, because there is an internal FBI memo exonerating Flynn of being a "Russian agent" that was signed on 1/30/17 in the midst of the Kislyak crisis.
This thread explains why the FBI needed to close out the investigation of Flynn by covering up the fact he was lying to them. https://twitter.com/REMFtweets/status/1198772238360727552?s=20
But Trump was still two steps ahead of everyone...
Regardless of the FBI's decision to close the investigation of Flynn...
TRUMP STILL FIRED FLYNN... because he lied to VP Pence... AND...
BECAUSE FLYNN LIED TO THE FBI. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618?s=20
Regardless of the FBI's decision to close the investigation of Flynn...
TRUMP STILL FIRED FLYNN... because he lied to VP Pence... AND...
BECAUSE FLYNN LIED TO THE FBI. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618?s=20
So how did Trump know Flynn was lying before he fired him?
According to the Mueller Report, besides calls with Kislyak earlier in December as reported by Flynn, he also had two phone conversations with Kislyak where sanctions were specifically discussed.
The first call was on 12/29/16.
And the second call was on 12/31/16.
The first call was on 12/29/16.
And the second call was on 12/31/16.
During the first call, on 12/29/16, Flynn DISCUSSED SEVERAL ITEMS with Kislyak, INCLUDING SANCTIONS. The FBI agents asked Flynn about this call. He denied discussing sanctions.
When challenged over the contents of the first call, he changed his story and said he couldn't recall.
When challenged over the contents of the first call, he changed his story and said he couldn't recall.
Ok, start paying extra close attention here…
During the second call, on 12/31/16, the ONLY TOPIC OF DISCUSSION WAS SANCTIONS. Kislyak had called Flynn to report his"request" had been received at the highest levels in Russia and that they were not going to escalate the situation.
COMMENT: How could Flynn forget about a call where the only thing discussed was sanctions?!
Keep focusing…
The FBI Agents asked Flynn if there were any additional communications with Kislyak. Flynn denied there being any. THIS TIME THE AGENTS DID NOT CHALLENGE FLYNN.
Flynn omitted the call on 12/31 where the ONLY topic of discussion was sanctions. He must have done this willfully.
Yet, the agents let him off the hook.
Yet, the agents let him off the hook.
Do you see what’s going on here?
Flynn willfully omitted the mention the 12/31/16 call with Kislyak. He could not have forgotten.
Flynn willfully omitted the mention the 12/31/16 call with Kislyak. He could not have forgotten.
And yet the FBI did not question him about it… even though it was an obvious question to ask... and they surely knew he was willfully omitting to mention this call.
Why?
Read this thread again: https://twitter.com/REMFtweets/status/1198772238360727552?s=20
Why?
Read this thread again: https://twitter.com/REMFtweets/status/1198772238360727552?s=20
But Trump, who certainly had reviewed the underlying information by now, knew to ask what the FBI should have asked...
... because the 12/31/16 call is the SMOKING GUN.
... because the 12/31/16 call is the SMOKING GUN.
On 2/6/17 Trump had a one on one meeting with Flynn.
Although this is an assumption, it's fairly obvious Flynn willfully omitted to mention the 12/31/16 call to @POTUS.
Flynn also said he "might have talked about sanctions" with Kislyak.
He BLATANTLY LIED to POTUS!
Flynn also said he "might have talked about sanctions" with Kislyak.
He BLATANTLY LIED to POTUS!
That’s how Trump busted Flynn…
… and the FBI!
Trump knew Flynn was lying AND he knew the FBI had to be covering it up.
Hmmm...
… and the FBI!
Trump knew Flynn was lying AND he knew the FBI had to be covering it up.
Hmmm...
Had @realDonaldTrump just unmasked Flynn and the FBI as co-conspirators?
So here's what we assess to be true:
1. Trump knew Flynn was lying to the FBI, VP Pence, and others in his Administration.
2. Trump knew Flynn was lying to the him-- the President.
3. The FBI knew Flynn was lying to them but covered it up.
1. Trump knew Flynn was lying to the FBI, VP Pence, and others in his Administration.
2. Trump knew Flynn was lying to the him-- the President.
3. The FBI knew Flynn was lying to them but covered it up.
These assessments further support the suspicion that the FBI exonerated Flynn of lying in order to close out a previous investigation to hide Flynn's work as an informant. https://twitter.com/REMFtweets/status/1198772238360727552?s=20
What still needs to be considered is WHY did Flynn lie? What was his motivation? Who stood to benefit?
Remember what Trump said: “There was nothing to hide!” https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618?s=20
Remember what Trump said: “There was nothing to hide!” https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618?s=20
In conclusion...
Flynn literally lied right to the President’s face!!!
And @POTUS busted him.
Talk about "eroding levels of trust"...
End.
Flynn literally lied right to the President’s face!!!
And @POTUS busted him.
Talk about "eroding levels of trust"...
End.
ADDENDUM: Was Flynn wearing a wire inside the Trump campaign?
Yes, it looks that way. https://twitter.com/REMFtweets/status/1174858171082518529?s=20
Yes, it looks that way. https://twitter.com/REMFtweets/status/1174858171082518529?s=20
