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originally posted by: Iamonlyhuman
www.dailymail.co.uk...
President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was the high-ranking administration official who directed Flynn to contact Russian officials, reports claim. Several sources say Ivanka's husband is the man Flynn claims ordered him to reach out to Russian officials on December 22 to discuss a United Nations resolution on Israel.
In December 2016, Obama expelled a number of Russian diplomats claiming that Russia meddled in the presidential election. That was just a month before Obama was to leave office and after the election. It could be said that Flynn's contact with the Russian Ambassador, instead of retaliation for expelling 35 Russian officials from the U.S., made Putin invite children of 35 US diplomats to Kremlin for Christmas. The contact was beneficial to America.
The question is, was Flynn's contact with Russia against the law? If Flynn could not officially contact Russia as a preparation for the incoming Administration, then even though Flynn was directed by his boss, he personally bears the responsibility for the contact, he could be indicted and found guilty. Trump can pardon him for serving the interest of USA.
ETA: The other question is if it wasn't against the law, then why did Flynn lie about it?
originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
originally posted by: Iamonlyhuman
The questions is, was Flynn's contact with Russia was against the law?
That's what I'd like to know and I really cannot seem to find an answer on whether Presidential transitional teams are barred from contacting foreign governments regarding potential policy during the transition period.
...
QUESTION: No, I got just one more. You probably have seen --
MR TONER: Excuse me.
QUESTION: -- reports starting yesterday, but then more of them this morning, about contact between the incoming national security advisor and the Russian ambassador. I’m just wondering, from the State Department’s point of view, is this something that’s of concern at all? Or – I’ll just leave it there and then follow up.
MR TONER: Again, not necessarily – I’ve seen the reports. I don’t think they’ve been confirmed or corroborated yet. But that’s – as he’s part of the transition team, that’s really for them to speak to in how they are engaging. I mean --
QUESTION: Right, but --
MR TONER: -- the president-elect is also engaged on his own with many world leaders.
QUESTION: Right.
MR TONER: So I don’t want to speculate and I don’t want to --
QUESTION: So there’s nothing – this building doesn’t see anything necessarily inappropriate about contact between members of the incoming administration and foreign officials --
MR TONER: No.
QUESTION: -- no matter what country they’re from?
MR TONER: No.
QUESTION: Right?
MR TONER: No. And again, this has been ongoing. I mean, we stand ready if they want to work through the State Department to contact some of these individuals, but we have no comment or no problem with them doing such on their own. 13 1/13/2017
QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.
originally posted by: mobiusmale
I find it comical how the left keeps moving the goalposts on this supposed "Russian collusion" crusade.
They have not been able to find any evidence of Trump and the Russians working together to alter the outcome of the election...so now they are saying that he started talking to Russia (not to mention many other Countries) after he was elected, but had not yet been sworn in.
What is the expectation...that an incoming President and his team should have no contact with the outside world until the inauguration? That would be both unrealistic to expect - and it would be incompetent of a President-elect to conduct himself in this way.
Seriously Resisters, give it up!
originally posted by: darkbake
From what I read, Presidential transition teams are not exempt from the Logan Act. It is to keep it so that there is only one administration conducting diplomacy at once. However, some people think the law might have to be clarified in the future.