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US President Donald Trump has fully pardoned his former security adviser Michael Flynn. It is a great honor for him to announce the measure, Trump wrote on Twitter.
He congratulated Flynn and his family and wrote this Thursday, in anticipation of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, “I know you are going to have a really fantastic Thanksgiving!”
Retired General Flynn had only served a little over three weeks as a national security adviser in 2017. Later, in the course of the investigation into possible Russian influence in the 2016 US presidential election, the so-called Russia affair, he admitted to lying. to the Federal Police of the FBI.
He is also said to have lied to Vice President Mike Pence about the matter. Flynn was the only one to plead guilty to FBI Special Investigator Robert Mueller’s investigation. Shortly before a verdict was expected at his trial, Flynn filed a request in January to withdraw his confession.
In May, the Justice Ministry called for an end to the proceedings in a very unusual step. One is not convinced that Flynn’s hearing in January 2017 was based on a legitimate investigation, he said, among other things. The case was stuck in federal court after the ministry’s controversial breakthrough. The judge responsible there had not agreed to drop the charges against Flynn.
Democrats see “abuse of power”
Yet Trump had celebrated Flynn as a “hero” and had repeated his plans to pardon Flynn even after his defeat in the US presidential election in early November. In Trump’s view, Flynn has been treated unfairly by the judiciary and the FBI. Trump repeatedly complained that Flynn was being prosecuted by the judiciary.
Democrats condemned Flynn’s clemency. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Democrat Adam Schiff, accused the president of having “abused” his powers to pardon. Trump would reward “friends and political allies” and protect those who lied for him.
The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, spoke of “abuse of power” and undermining the rule of law.
Trump calls for election results to be “annulled”
The outgoing president still refuses to acknowledge his defeat in the November 3 elections. At a meeting of Republican state politicians in Pennsylvania, Trump phoned to “annul” the election result. “This election was rigged,” Trump repeated his as-yet unproven allegations of election fraud.
Trump’s private attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and Republican senators in the Pennsylvania state parliament held a “hearing” on the alleged manipulation in the city of Gettysburg on Wednesday. According to media reports, the president wanted to attend the meeting in person, but the trip was canceled. Instead, Trump called a cell phone during the meeting, which he then moved to a microphone in the room.
