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NEW YORK (Dagbladet): – It is a great honor for me to announce that a full pardon has been granted to General Michael T. Flynn. Congratulations to General Flynn and his wonderful family. I know you want a really wonderful Thanksgiving now, writes Trump Twitter Wednesday.
– Trump’s Shameful Circus Continues
Many expected Trump to pardon the retired general because the case and the entire Russia investigation have hung like a shadow over much of his presidency. And at the end of the presidency came the decision.
Now, other pardons may come in the final weeks before Joe Biden takes over on January 20.
Many in trouble
Among Trump’s other allies now hoping for similar treatment are the two former campaign staff, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos, who were also convicted in cases related to the Russia probe. In addition to Gates and Papadopoulos, several others in the circle around Trump have also been convicted. These include Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, his good friend and adviser Roger Stone, and former campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Additionally, others in the circle around the president face federal charges. These include his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, who is accused of fraud by donors to the construction of the Trump Wall against Mexico, and another top fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, who in October pleaded guilty to another case of lobbying by foreign interests. .
Wondering if he’s forgiving himself
Itself
There is even speculation that Trump may try to forgive himself and his family members for possible future federal charges.
Trump has repeatedly asked employees for forgiveness for himself and his family members, and whether he can forgive himself before anyone else for an indictment, CNN reports.
However, it is highly doubtful that he has the legal opportunity to do so.
Trump and those closest to him may face a host of legal problems when he resigns as president and no longer has immunity.
So far, Trump has handled through a Supreme Court case, 26 counts of sexual harassment and abuse and more than 4,000 lawsuits, writes The New Yorker. He is also involved in investigations of tax evasion, bribery and attempts to obstruct the work of the judiciary.
Lawyers and others who are in contact with the White House say they hope Trump will also use the right to clemency in other cases beyond the long list of those closest to Trump, which ended in legal trouble, writes the New York. Times.
Before Wednesday’s clemency, Trump pardoned 28 people. It has also annulled the sentence in 16 other cases.
Break up with Trump
Taken for a lie
Trump himself has previously indicated that he could forgive Flynn. He was Trump’s national security adviser for just 22 days at the beginning of his presidency in 2017 before having to leave after he was caught lying about his dealings with the Russian government.
At the time, Trump wrote on Twitter that he had fired Flynn for lying to Vice President Mike Pence. According to CNN, Flynn also lied to then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and then-spokesman Sean Spicer.
In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty and admitted that he had lied to FBI investigators about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the transition period before Trump became president of the United States. This was seen as one of the first major victories for letter researcher Robert Mueller, writes the Washington Post.
But earlier this year, Trump’s Attorney General William Barr said no lawsuit had been filed against Flynn. He also requested the dismissal of the case. That request has now been processed by a federal judge.
Flynn himself responded shortly after Trump’s decision to twitter an image of an American flag and the words “Jeremiah 1-19”. It is a reference to a verse in the Bible where God says: “They will fight against you, but they will not defeat you. Because I am with you, says the Lord. I want to save you »
According to the AP, Trump made the decision without discussing the matter with his own Justice Department. They did not learn of the pardon until Wednesday. At the same time, the news agency writes that Trump is authorized in any case to make this kind of pardon.
– rogue type
While several of Trump’s supporters are cheering for the decisions, it has sparked outrage among Democrats.
“Flynn chose loyalty to Trump over loyalty to his country,” wrote the Democratic leader of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, in a lengthy statement, according to the Washington Post.
Schiff claims that Trump’s decision is an attempt to protect himself from a forensic investigation.
– New nail in the coffin
– No wonder Trump comes out the way he came in: villain in the end, says Schiff.
It describes Trump’s decision as an abuse of power.
– Flynn lied to the FBI about communications with Russia – attempt to undermine US foreign policy after sanctions imposed on Russia for interfering in our elections. And Flynn pleaded guilty to those lies twice. A Trump pardon doesn’t take away that truth, no matter how Trump and his allies try to say otherwise, Schiff says.
“Forgiveness is undeserved, unprincipled, and another ugly stain on President Trump’s legacy that is rapidly fading,” Democratic Justice Committee leader Jerry Nadler said in a statement.
Conversations with ambassador
After Trump won the 2016 election, Flynn landed the position of national security adviser. In that role, he had several meetings and phone conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, before Trump was sworn in as president.
Among the issues they discussed were the new sanctions that then-President Barack Obama had imposed on Russia on December 29, 2016 in response to the country’s attempt to influence the US presidential elections. Declassified transcripts of a telephone conversation that Flynn and Kislyak had that day show that Flynn asked Russia not to respond aggressively and exacerbate the situation. The next day, much to Washington’s surprise, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would not respond to Obama’s sanctions.
Let the friend go to jail
Two days later, Kislyak told Flynn that it was the conversation with Flynn that was the reason Russia did not respond aggressively. When the FBI asked Flynn 24 days later, he replied that he did not recall discussing the sanctions with Kislyak. He later told a court that he knew this was not true.
Appoint Senators: “Extreme Contempt” for Trump
Flynn was the only White House staff member convicted as part of Mueller’s Russia investigation. Since then, Trump has tried to discredit the investigation.
Earlier, the President of the United States also changed the prison sentence to his good friend Roger Stone, who was convicted of seven felonies in a case related to the Mueller investigation, writes the New York Times.
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