Flynn charged with one count of making false statement

originally posted by: darkbake
a reply to: MotherMayEye

That was a good point. However, I found this. It would not be a donation to Hillary Clinton because she paid for the services.

"The law prohibits accepting contributions from foreigners or providing substantial assistance to foreigners in making independent expenditures," Hasen said. "It does not prohibit paying foreigners at market value to perform services."

But even Steele says he believes only 70-90% of the dossier is accurate. So, either Hillary paid for libellous material about Trump OR she accepted it as a contribution from Steele indirectly. Both are illegal.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Did Hillary have a transition team?

Obama did. Would think it likely Hillary had one set up as well bit not sure.

Both sides had a transition team. You have to set that up before election night. There's just too much to do before 20 Jan to wait until election day to do it.

originally posted by: GuidedKill

originally posted by: introvert

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: introvert

Then people should learn the difference and stop repeating the talking points of the left by using collusion.

It appears you are repeating the Right Wing talking points, focusing on the term "collusion" to dismiss the charges that have come down, or may be coming in the future.

"Collusion" may very well be an issue here. It just may come under a different "name".

But collusion is what the special council was convened for.....

No. It was convened to investigate for any crimes that may have been committed.

Collusion is the propaganda used to dismiss and deflect.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: EchoesInTime
ABc's Brian Ross is reporting Flynn will testify that Trump and transistion officials ordered him to contact Russia.
This was when Trump was a candidate and the transistion after the election.

Fox reports the Dow has fallen 200 points on this unconfirmed news.

That Ross thinks he will testify to this or that he will?...pretty sure Ross isn't getting any inside scoop.

Flynn is "prepared" to testify against Trump and family.

White House lawyer has now stated that Flynns guilty verdict is no way implicates anyone in the white house.

So Mueller is charging Flynn with lying to the FBI for the same incident Trump fired him for. So Mueller took 9 months longer than Trump to recognize what Flynn did. How much taxpayer money is going for this loser to investigate? As usual, Trump does it better and cheaper for taxpayers. Time for a special prosecutor to investigate the most crooked, hated, and selfserving group in the world ( The US Congress).

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: introvert

originally posted by: Xcathdra
There are reports (unconfirmed so far) that Flynn told the FBI he was directed by Trump, during the campaign, to make contact with the Russians.

Again an action that is not illegal and all depending on the reasons for the outreach.

That is why we should wait and see what happens.

The Trump defenders are putting the cart before the horse here, in an attempt to deflect and defend.

and the Trump haters are assuming a sinister act in an attempt to bring this administration down.

Funny how that road works...

You cannot bring an administration down with only assumptions.

Your post makes no sense.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: FamCore

The question I was asked was did I have any reason to believe that Flynn hadn't lied to the administration about his communications with Kislyak.

But yes, in general, I would think it's "wishful thinking" to assume that any administration is being perfectly honest. However, I think the Trump administration is uniquely full of #.

Also, this is breaking:

The Hill - Flynn to testify Trump 'directed him to make contact with the Russians': report

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is expected to testify that President Trump instructed him to contact Russian officials during the 2016 campaign, ABC News reports.

Trump "directed him to make contact with the Russians," ABC's Brian Ross said Friday, just moments after Flynn entered a guilty plea for lying about his contact with Russians during the presidential transition period.

The pattern of events is suspect to be sure, which is why I'm not against the investigation. I guess we'll see. I understand your reasoning.

originally posted by: face23785

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Did Hillary have a transition team?

Obama did. Would think it likely Hillary had one set up as well bit not sure.

Both sides had a transition team. You have to set that up before election night. There's just too much to do before 20 Jan to wait until election day to do it.

I figured that was the case...just wasn't sure. So it could be officials from any of the 3 teams then....kinda interesting twist eh?

originally posted by: EchoesInTime

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: EchoesInTime
ABc's Brian Ross is reporting Flynn will testify that Trump and transistion officials ordered him to contact Russia.
This was when Trump was a candidate and the transistion after the election.

Fox reports the Dow has fallen 200 points on this unconfirmed news.

That Ross thinks he will testify to this or that he will?...pretty sure Ross isn't getting any inside scoop.

Flynn is "prepared" to testify against Trump and family.

White House lawyer has now stated that Flynns guilty verdict is no way implicates anyone in the white house.

Well we've seen in the past some of these "journalists" will jump at the chance to report anything they hear negative about this administration, confirmed or not.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: face23785

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Did Hillary have a transition team?

Obama did. Would think it likely Hillary had one set up as well bit not sure.

Both sides had a transition team. You have to set that up before election night. There's just too much to do before 20 Jan to wait until election day to do it.

I figured that was the case...just wasn't sure. So it could be officials from any of the 3 teams then....kinda interesting twist eh?

I'm pretty sure they specified "Trump transition team". I was listening to the anchor read a transcript he was sent, so there could be some Telephone Game going on there too.

originally posted by: shooterbrody

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: shooterbrody

Oh for goodness sake get over it. That didn't happen and people are really getting tired trying to explain it to you.

if it did not happen how does the fbi know flynn lied?
how did the nyt know about the conversation?

by charging flynn the fbi is admitting the obama admin illegally spied on the incoming trump admin for political reasons

Look, the alphabet agencies ROUTINELY monitor conversations with people like Kislyak. It's called signals intelligence.
Why? Because "diplomats" tend to moonlight as spies. So it's kind of in the interest of national security. This isn't about Obama's team playing politics. Obama fired Flynn AND tried to warn Trump about him. Ironically, if Comrade Cheeto had actually listened, he might not be dealing with this. But that would suggest the orange one actually has a brain between his ears.

Flynn's as dirty as they come. He was caught in a web of lies, and now Mueller's team is using those lies to get the bigger fish. If he's pleading guilty to lying to the FBI in exchange for squealing, we can safely assume Mueller's team dangled all kinds of other bigger charges over him--and his son.

Lock them up.
Cheeto in chains.

Good Article on This

Conversations that actively contradict the current administration’s foreign policy are problematic, but not unprecedented. The most famous example of this took place before an election, when Richard Nixon’s team reportedly urged South Vietnamese officials to scuttle peace talks organized by the Johnson administration, promising them a better deal under the new administration. And in 1980, the Washington Post reported that Jimmy Carter’s ambassador to El Salvador criticized President-elect Ronald Reagan’s advisers for undermining him by promising a shift in U.S. policy toward the country, then sliding into civil war.

The Verdict Meetings between the president-elect’s team and foreign officials are Normal. Negotiations that undermine a sitting president’s foreign policy are not unprecedented, but remain highly controversial and Not Normal.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Drudge is painted all over that Flynn is going to testify against Trump. But the wording is that he was directed to make contact with the Russians in his testimony for what that is worth.

If we're trying to prove that he was trying to sway the election in his favor, we have a long way to go. Candidates make contact with foreign entities all the time.

originally posted by: pavil
Good Article on This

Conversations that actively contradict the current administration’s foreign policy are problematic, but not unprecedented. The most famous example of this took place before an election, when Richard Nixon’s team reportedly urged South Vietnamese officials to scuttle peace talks organized by the Johnson administration, promising them a better deal under the new administration. And in 1980, the Washington Post reported that Jimmy Carter’s ambassador to El Salvador criticized President-elect Ronald Reagan’s advisers for undermining him by promising a shift in U.S. policy toward the country, then sliding into civil war.

The Verdict Meetings between the president-elect’s team and foreign officials are Normal. Negotiations that undermine a sitting president’s foreign policy are not unprecedented, but remain highly controversial and Not Normal.

This post will be mostly ignored, I predict.

a reply to: Saiker

So Mueller is charging Flynn with lying to the FBI for the same incident Trump fired him for. So Mueller took 9 months longer than Trump to recognize what Flynn did.

It's called due process.

Something autocrat Trump seems to really dislike.

a reply to: xuenchen

He must have squealed on some other people I would imagine !!

Hmmmmm... Remember when Flynn worked for Obama? Remember when Obama fired him? Remember when Obama "warned" Trump about Flynn???

Me too. Tee hee hee!!!

Nothing is what it seems....

a reply to: face23785

Everyone also ignores that Teddy Kennedy went to Russia to try to secure their aid in unseating Reagan the second time around too.

Somehow that wasn't foreign collusion to sway a US election then.

Just for some context, when you're up around 24,000, a drop of 200 points on the Dow is equivalent to a silent fart. I wouldn't worry too much about that.

originally posted by: Liquesence
a reply to: Saiker

So Mueller is charging Flynn with lying to the FBI for the same incident Trump fired him for. So Mueller took 9 months longer than Trump to recognize what Flynn did.

It's called due process.

Something autocrat Trump seems to really dislike.

Wait ...

So did Matt Lauer get due process? How about Harvey Weinstein?

I mean, no one went to court to discover if the claims against them were true. They just got fired. Does that mean the execs and the board of their companies are a bunch of evil autocrats like Trump?

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: theantediluvian

It has already been discussed that he said in court "senior transition officials" without specifying who. Brian Ross who reported this seems to have speculated it was Trump.

Brian Ross is specifically citing a Flynn "confidant." (it's in the video at the link). We'll see if that reporting is accurate or not.

What was said in court is pretty bad on its own. VP Pence headed up the transition. If Flynn is to be believed now, it sounds like he was directed to reach out to Kislyak and discuss the sanctions.

The Hill - Flynn coordinated Russia call with senior transition official, prosecutors say

Former national security advisor Michael Flynn spoke with a "senior official" in President’s Trump's transition team at the Mar-a-Lago resort to discuss what he should communicate to the Russian ambassador in a highly-scrutinized series of phone calls in December of 2016, according to federal prosecutors.

Flynn and the senior officials discussed both the recently implemented U.S. sanctions on Russia, as well as the fact that they did not want Russia to escalate friction between the two nations, lawyers on special counsel Robert Mueller's team told a federal judge Friday.

After the discussion, Flynn telephoned the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. Afterwards, he called the senior transition official and reported the sanctions discussion, prosecutors said.

Kislyak later followed up with Flynn and affirmed that Russia would moderate its response to the sanctions, put in place by then-President Obama. Flynn communicated that exchange to other transition officials, prosecutors said.

Sure sounds like Flynn got thrown under the bus for following orders and that the administration lied about it at every possible opportunity.

It also suggests of course that not only did Pence lie about Flynn's communications, but that Pence lied about Flynn lying to him.

As usual, Trump appears to have simply lied about everything. Because, well, that's his thing.