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Michael Flynn

21st-century United States National Security Advisor

Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General and was, briefly, National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump.

Flynn's military career included a key role in shaping U.S. counterterrorism strategy and dismantling insurgent networks in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he was given numerous combat arms, conventional, and special operations senior intelligence assignments.123 He served as the 18th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, serving from July 2012 until his forced retirement from the military in August 2014.456 After leaving the military, he established Flynn Intel Group, which provided intelligence services for businesses and governments, including ones in Turkey.78 He became a senior advisor to Trump during his presidential campaign and served as the National Security Advisor from January 239 to February 13, 2017.10 He resigned after information surfaced that he had misled the FBI and Vice President Mike Pence about the nature and content of his communications with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.1112 Flynn's tenure of just 24 days is the shortest in the office's history.1314

On April 27, 2017, the Pentagon inspector general announced an investigation into whether Flynn had accepted money from foreign governments without the required approval.15 The New York Times reported on May 18, 2018, that a longtime FBI/CIA informant had met Flynn at an intelligence seminar in Britain six months earlier and became alarmed by Flynn's closeness to a Russian woman there; this concern prompted another individual to alert American authorities that Flynn may have been compromised by Russian intelligence.16 Flynn initially refused to hand over subpoenaed documents to the Senate Intelligence Committee, pleading the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination, but a compromise with the committee was worked out.1718 On December 1, 2017, Flynn appeared in federal court to formalize a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to plead guilty to a single felony count of "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI.19 He confirmed his intention to cooperate with the Special Counsel's investigation.

Early life

Michael Thomas Flynn was born and raised in Middletown, Rhode Island,20 as one of nine children21 to Helen Frances (Andrews), who worked in real estate, and Charles Francis Flynn, a small-town banker.22232425 Both of his parents are of Irish descent.26

Michael Flynn graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science degree in management science in 1981 and was a Distinguished Military Graduate of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He also earned a Master of Business Administration in Telecommunications from Golden Gate University, a Master of Military Art and Science from the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.27

Flynn is a graduate of the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course, Ranger School, Military Intelligence Officer Advanced Course, Army Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, and Naval War College.28

Military career

U.S. Army

General Stanley McChrystal and Flynn in Afghanistan, 2010

Flynn was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant in military intelligence in 1981.29 His military assignments included multiple tours at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, and Joint Special Operations Command, where he deployed for the invasion of Grenada and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.30 He also served with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and the Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.31

Flynn served as the assistant chief of staff, G2, XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from June 2001 and the director of intelligence at the Joint Task Force 180 in Afghanistan until July 2002. He commanded the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade from June 2002 to June 200432 and was the director of intelligence for Joint Special Operations Command from July 2004 to June 2007, with service in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and the Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom). He served as the director of intelligence of the United States Central Command from June 2007 to July 2008, as the director of intelligence of the Joint Staff from July 2008 to June 2009, then the director of intelligence of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from June 2009 to October 2010.3334

Defense Intelligence Agency

Flynn speaks during the change of directorship for the Defense Intelligence Agency on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C.
Flynn with Martin Dempsey and Ashton Carter, June 11, 2013

In September 2011, Flynn was promoted to Lieutenant General and assigned as assistant director of national intelligence in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. On April 17, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Flynn to be the 18th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.3536 Flynn took command of the DIA in July 2012.37 He simultaneously became commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and chair of the Military Intelligence Board.

In October 2012, Flynn announced plans to release his paper "VISION2020: Accelerating Change Through Integration", a look at changes he believes are necessary for the DIA in the future.3839

In June 2013, Michael Flynn became the first U.S. officer to be allowed inside the Russian military intelligence (GRU) headquarters in Moscow, where he arrived at the invitation of the GRU chief Gen Igor Sergun.4041 His follow-up trip to visit the GRU HQ as Director of DIA was not allowed.42

Retirement from the military

On April 30, 2014, Flynn announced his retirement effective later that year, about a year earlier than he had been scheduled to leave his position. He was reportedly effectively forced out of the DIA after clashing with superiors over his allegedly chaotic management style and vision for the agency.43444546 In a private e-mail that was leaked online, Colin Powell said that he had heard in the DIA (apparently from later DIA director Vincent R. Stewart) that Flynn was fired because he was "abusive with staff, didn't listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc."47 According to The New York Times, Flynn exhibited a loose relationship with the truth, leading his subordinates to refer to Flynn's repeated dubious assertions as "Flynn facts".48

According to what Flynn had stated in one final interview as DIA director, he felt like a lone voice in thinking that the United States was less safe from the threat of Islamic terrorism in 2014 than it was prior to the 9/11 attacks; he went on to believe that he was pressed into retirement for questioning the Obama administration's public narrative that Al Qaeda was close to defeat.49 Journalist Seymour Hersh wrote that "Flynn confirmed [to Hersh] that his agency had sent a constant stream of classified warnings ... about the dire consequences of toppling [Syrian President] Assad." Flynn recounted that his agency was producing intelligence reports indicating that radical Islamists were the main force in the Syrian insurgency and "that Turkey was looking the other way when it came to the growth of the Islamic State inside Syria". According to Flynn, these reports "got enormous pushback from the Obama administration," who he felt "did not want to hear the truth". According to former DIA official W. Patrick Lang: "Flynn incurred the wrath of the White House by insisting on telling the truth about Syria ... they shoved him out. He wouldn't shut up."50 In an interview with Al Jazeera, Flynn criticized the Obama administration for its delay in supporting the opposition in Syria, thereby allowing for the growth of Al-Nusra and other extremist forces: "when you don't get in and help somebody, they're gonna find other means to achieve their goals" and that "we should have done more earlier on in this effort, you know, than we did."51

Flynn retired from the U.S. Army with 33 years of service on August 7, 2014.52

Post-retirement

Consulting firm

Flynn, with his son Michael G. Flynn, ran the Flynn Intel Group Inc, which provided intelligence services for businesses and governments.5354 The company was founded in the fall of 2014, restarted in June 2015 as a Delaware company,55 and closed in 2016.

Flynn was paid over $65,000 by companies connected to Russia in 2015, including $11,250 from both Volga-Dnepr Airlines and the U.S. subsidiary of Kaspersky Lab.5657 Other clients included Palo Alto Networks, Francisco Partners, Brainwave Science and Adobe Systems.58

While working as a consultant, Flynn served on the board of several organizations, including GreenZone Systems, Patriot Capital, Brainwave, Drone Aviation and OSY Technologies.596061 Subsidiaries of the Flynn Intel Group included FIG Cyber Inc, headed by Timothy Newberry, and FIG Aviation.6263

In July 2018, the consulting firm Stonington Global LLC announced that Flynn was joining the firm as its director of global strategy, though Flynn's attorneys disputed that there had ever been a partnership several hours later.64

Foreign agent

In July 2016, Flynn spoke at a meeting of ACT! for America at a point when the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was still underway. He spoke favorably of the coup participants, saying that Erdoğan had been moving Turkey away from secularism and towards Islamism and that participants in the coup wanted Turkey to be and to be seen as a secular nation—a goal "worth clapping for."65

By the end of September 2016, Flynn's consulting company was hired by Inovo BV, a company owned by Kamil Ekim Alptekin, the Chair of the Turkish-American Business Council, which is an arm of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK).6667686970

On November 8 (election day in the United States), an op-ed written by Flynn was published by The Hill, calling for U.S. backing for Erdoğan's government and criticizing the regime's opponent, Fethullah Gülen, alleging that Gülen headed a "vast global network" that fitted "the description of a dangerous sleeper terror network".717273 At the time, Flynn did not disclose that his consulting firm had received funds from a company with ties to the Turkish government.74 After Flynn's ties had been disclosed by The Daily Caller, Politico, and others, the editor of The Hill added a note to Flynn's op-ed, stating that Flynn had failed to disclose that he had been engaged at the time in "consulting work that might have aided the government of Turkey," that his firm had received payments from a company with close ties to the Turkish government, or that the company had reviewed the draft of the op-ed before it was submitted to The Hill.75

On March 8, 2017, Flynn registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for $530,000 worth of lobbying work before election day.76 This work was done on behalf of a Dutch-based company that may have been working for the Turkish government.77

On March 24, 2017, former Director of the CIA James Woolsey said that in September 2016 Flynn, while working for the Trump presidential campaign, had attended a meeting in a New York hotel with Turkish officials including foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and energy minister Berat Albayrak, son-in-law of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and had discussed abducting Fethullah Gülen and sending him to Turkey, bypassing the U.S. extradition legal process.78

Flynn sat in on classified national security briefings with then-candidate Trump at the same time that Flynn was working for foreign clients, which raises ethical concerns and conflicts of interest.7980 Flynn was paid at least $5,000 to serve as a consultant to a U.S.-Russian project to build 40 nuclear reactors across the Middle East, which Flynn's failure to disclose was flagged by Representatives Elijah Cummings and Eliot Engel as a possible violation of federal law.8182

Attendance at RT gala dinner

In December 2015, Flynn attended RT's 10th anniversary gala.8384 Flynn is sitting next to Vladimir Putin during the dinner. Jill Stein (in the foreground) also attended the gala.

On December 10, 2015, Flynn attended a gala dinner in Moscow in honor of RT (formerly "Russia Today"), a Russian government-owned English-language media outlet, on which he made semi-regular appearances as an analyst after he retired from U.S. government service.85

Flynn sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the dinner, leading journalist Michael Crowley of Politico to report that "at a moment of semi-hostility between the U.S. and Russia, the presence of such an important figure at Putin's table startled" U.S. officials.868788 As part of the festivities, Flynn gave a talk on world affairs for which he was paid at least $45,000.89 Flynn defended the RT payment in an interview with Michael Isikoff.90

On February 1, 2017, the ranking Democratic members on six House committees sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, requesting a Department of Defense investigation into Flynn's connection to RT.91 The legislators expressed concern that Flynn had violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution by accepting money from RT.92

A 2017 report by the United States Intelligence Community characterized RT as "The Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet" and said that RT America is set up as an autonomous nonprofit organization "to avoid the Foreign Agents Registration Act".9394

As a retired military intelligence officer, Flynn was required to obtain prior permission from the Defense Department and the State Department before receiving any money from foreign governments. Flynn apparently did not seek that approval before the RT speech, and he did not report the payment when he applied for renewal of his security clearance two months later.95

Glenn A. Fine, the acting Defense Department Inspector General, has confirmed he is investigating Flynn.96

2016 U.S. presidential election

Flynn at a campaign rally for then-Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, in October 2016

Having already been consulted regarding national security by Carly Fiorina as well as other candidates, including Scott Walker, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump,97 Flynn was asked in February 2016 to serve as an adviser to the Trump campaign.98

In July 2016, it was reported he was being considered as Trump's running mate; Flynn later confirmed that he had submitted vetting documents to the campaign and, although a registered Democrat, was willing to accept the Republican vice-presidential nomination if chosen.99100 However, Trump instead selected Indiana Governor Mike Pence.

As one of the keynote speakers during the first night of the 2016 Republican National Convention, Flynn gave what the Los Angeles Times described as a "fiery" speech, in which he stated: "We are tired of Obama's empty speeches and his misguided rhetoric. This, this has caused the world to have no respect for America's word, nor does it fear our might";101 he accused Obama of choosing to conceal the actions of Osama bin Laden and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.102 Flynn went on to criticize political correctness and joined the crowd in a chant of "U-S-A! U-S-A!". During the chants, he told those in the audience, "Get fired up! This is about our country."103104

During the speech, Flynn launched a blistering attack on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He led the crowd in chants of "Lock her up!"; during one of those chants, he encouraged the crowd to keep it up, saying, "Damn right! Exactly right! There is nothing wrong with that!"105 He called for Clinton to withdraw from the race, saying that "if I did a tenth of what she did, I'd be in jail today."106107 He repeated in subsequent interviews that she should be "locked up".108 While campaigning for Trump, Flynn also referred to Clinton as the "enemy camp".109 Six days after the speech, Flynn stirred up a controversy by retweeting anti-Semitic remarks, which he later apologized for and claimed were unintentional.110 During the election campaign, Flynn used Twitter to post links to negative stories about Clinton, like the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.111

Flynn was once opposed to waterboarding and other extreme interrogation techniques that have now been banned; however, according to an August 2016 Washington Post article, he said at one point, in the context of Trump's apparent openness to reinstating such techniques, that "he would be reluctant to take options off the table."112 In May 2016, Flynn was asked by an Al Jazeera reporter if he would support Trump's stated plan to "take out [the] families"113114 of people suspected of being involved in terrorism. In response, Flynn stated, "I would have to see the circumstances of that situation."115 In an interview with Al Jazeera, Flynn criticized the U.S. reliance on drones as a "failed strategy", stating that "what we have is this continued investment in conflict. The more weapons we give, the more bombs we drop, that just ... fuels the conflict."116117

National Security Advisor

Flynn, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Votel and Gen. Raymond A. Thomas at MacDill Air Force Base, February 6, 2017

On November 10, 2016, President Obama warned President-elect Trump against hiring Flynn.118 During their meeting in the Oval Office two days after the election, Obama expressed "profound concerns" about hiring Flynn to a sensitive, high-level national security post.119

On November 18, 2016, Flynn accepted Trump's offer for the position of National Security Advisor.120 Prior to his appointment, media sources including The Washington Post and Associated Press had already criticized his close relations with Russia,121122123124 and his promotion of anti-Clinton conspiracy theories and fake news during the 2016 presidential campaign.125126

In December 2016, Flynn met with Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPA), at Trump Tower in New York.127 The meeting attracted attention because the FPA was founded by ex-Nazis in the 1950s, and because Strache had recently signed a cooperation agreement with Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party. The Trump campaign refused to comment on the meeting.128

On December 29, 2016, Flynn spoke with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the same day the Obama administration announced retaliatory measures in response to the interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign by the Russian government. The phone conversation was reportedly viewed by Obama advisers who had been briefed on its content by the F.B.I. with suspicion as possibly a secret deal between the incoming team and Moscow, which could have violated the dormant Logan Act that bars unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign powers in disputes with the United States.129130131 The day after reporting by David Ignatius, Trump's incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer said the conversation had occurred on December 28 and thus couldn't have touched on the retaliation measures or Russia's response; Spicer later had to correct himself on the date of the conversation.132

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe meets with President-elect Trump, Kushner and Flynn in November 2016.

On January 4, 2017, Flynn informed Don McGahn, soon to become the White House Counsel, that he was under investigation over his work for Turkey.133 Ten days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Flynn told then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice not to proceed with a planned invasion of Raqqa using Kurdish People's Protection Units.134 Flynn's decision would delay the campaign, which had taken seven months to plan, several more months, but was consistent with Turkish objections to working with Kurdish troops.135

Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, in May 8 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, said the FBI interviewed Flynn, on January 24, 2017. Based on the results of that interview, she made an "urgent" request to meet with McGahn.136 She met with him on January 26 and again on January 27.137 She informed McGahn that Flynn was "compromised" and possibly open to blackmail by the Russians. Yates told McGahn that Flynn had misled Pence and other administration officials about the nature of his conversation with the Russian ambassador.138139140 She added that Flynn's "underlying conduct", which she could not describe due to classification, "was problematic in and of itself," saying "(i)t was a whole lot more than one White House official lying to another."141142 Former United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called the possibility of Flynn being blackmailed "kind of a stretch," while acknowledging that his false statement was "a problem ... that I would tell the president about."143

On January 22, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Flynn was under investigation by U.S. counterintelligence agents for his communications with Russian officials.144 On February 8, 2017, Flynn flatly denied having spoken to Kislyak in December 2016 about the sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama administration; however, the next day, U.S. intelligence officials shared an account indicating that such discussions did in fact take place.145 Following this revelation, Flynn's spokesman released a statement that Flynn "indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn't be certain that the topic never came up".146

Dismissal and investigation

Michael T. Flynn resignation letter

On February 13, 2017, Flynn resigned as National Security Advisor, following news reports about his communications with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak and additional reports that he had misled the Vice President about them.147 Flynn's 24-day tenure as National Security Advisor was the shortest in the 63-year history of the office.148 Those communications he had with the Russian ambassador were subsequently leaked to the press.149

Commenting on Flynn's resignation, on February 14 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated, "We got to a point not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue, where a level of trust between the President and General Flynn had eroded to the point where he felt he had to make a change ... The issue here was that the President got to the point where General Flynn's relationship – misleading the Vice President and others, or the possibility that he had forgotten critical details of this important conversation had created a critical mass and an unsustainable situation. That's why the President decided to ask for his resignation, and he got it."150

That same day (February 14), President Trump met with FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office and reportedly told him "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go" adding "he's a good guy."151 Comey subsequently testified that, "I had understood the President to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn in connection with false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in December ... I did not understand the president to be talking about the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign".152 The propriety, and even the legality, of these words that Trump reportedly said to Comey about Flynn have become a subject of considerable public debate.153 Several months after dismissing Flynn, Trump also dismissed Comey, which Comey attributed to the FBI's Russia investigation.154

Flynn had offered to testify to the FBI or the Senate and House Intelligence committees relating to the Russia probe in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution.155 However, the Senate Intelligence Committee rejected Flynn's offer for testimony in exchange for immunity.156 Flynn initially declined to respond to a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, but he and the committee later struck a compromise.157158 The Pentagon inspector general is also investigating whether Flynn accepted money from foreign governments without the required approval.159

On November 5, 2017, NBC News reported that Robert Mueller had enough evidence for charges against Flynn and his son, Michael G. Flynn.160 On November 10, The Wall Street Journal reported that Flynn is under investigation by Mueller for allegedly planning a kidnapping and extrajudicial rendition of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen to Turkey.161162 On November 22, NBC News reported that Michael T. Flynn's business partner Bijan Kian is a subject of the Mueller probe.163 NBC has also reported that a Turkish businessman named Reza Zarrab, who was picked up last year by U.S. authorities in Miami on Iranian sanctions violations and money laundering charges, is offering evidence against Flynn.164165

On November 23, 2017, it was reported that Flynn's lawyers have notified Trump's legal team they can no longer discuss anything regarding Mueller's investigation, suggesting that Flynn may be cooperating with prosecutors or negotiating a deal.166167168

Plea bargain and statement of offense

Flynn statement of offense

On December 1, 2017, special counsel Robert Mueller agreed to a plea bargain in which Flynn pleaded guilty to "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI regarding conversations with Russia's ambassador. Specifically, Flynn falsely denied that he had asked Russia's ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak on December 29, 2016, "to refrain from escalating ... in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day."169 Flynn pleaded guilty the same day as such plea bargain and acknowledged that he was cooperating with the investigation by Mueller.170 Flynn stated;171

It has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of "treason" and other outrageous acts....Such false accusations are contrary to everything I have ever done and stood for. But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right.

Bloomberg reporter Eli Lake wrote in an opinion piece on December 1, 2017, that two former Trump transition team officials provided information indicating that Jared Kushner was the senior member of the team described in Flynn's plea documents as having directed Flynn to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia, asking them to delay or vote against a United Nations resolution on the issue of Israeli settlements, contrary to the still-incumbent Obama administration's position of support for the resolution.172173 This was also confirmed by other news outlets, who cited multiple sources.174175

Sentencing

Sentencing of Flynn has been deferred several times,176177 most recently on December 18, 2018.178 As part of Flynn's plea negotiations, his son, Michael G. Flynn, is not expected to be charged.179

In a sentencing memorandum released on December 4, 2018, the Mueller investigation stated Flynn "deserves credit for accepting responsibility in a timely fashion and substantially assisting the government" and should receive little or no jail time.180

Flynn's attorneys submitted a sentencing memo on December 11, 2018, requesting leniency and suggesting FBI agents had tricked him into lying during the January 24, 2017, White House interview and did not advise him that lying to federal agents is a felony. The memo also asserted that Flynn's relaxed behavior during the interview indicated he was being truthful. Trump echoed this assertion two days later on Twitter and Fox News, asserting, “They convinced him he did lie, and he made some kind of a deal.”

Mueller's office rejected these assertions the next day, stating agents had told Flynn portions of what he had discussed with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak to jog his memory, but Flynn did not waver from his false statements. FBI agents concluded that Flynn's relaxed behavior during the interview was actually because he was fully committed to his lies and therefore could be compromised by the Kremlin. Mueller's office also documented instances when Flynn lied about the Kislyak conversation during the days before the FBI interview. Presiding judge Emmet Sullivan ordered documents related to the interview be provided to him prior to Flynn's December 18 sentencing. and could ask Flynn why he chose to raise this issue so late into his prosecution, after Mueller's office had recommended he receive little or no jail time. The New York Times reported that Flynn's “decision to attack the FBI in his own plea for probation appeared to be a gambit for a pardon from Mr. Trump, whose former lawyer had broached the prospect last year with a lawyer for Mr. Flynn.”181182

Sullivan rebuked Flynn at his December 18 sentencing hearing. Citing evidence not released to the public, the judge told him, "arguably you sold your country out,"183184 and warned "I cannot assure that if you proceed today you will not receive a sentence of incarceration." He offered to delay the sentencing until Flynn's cooperation with investigators was complete. After conferring with his attorneys, Flynn accepted the delay. During the hearing, Sullivan indicated he was offended by the suggestion in the sentencing memo submitted by Flynn's attorneys that the FBI had misled Flynn, as it created an appearance that Flynn wanted to both accept a generous plea deal from prosecutors while also contending he had been entrapped. He asked several questions of Flynn's attorney, Robert Kelner, to determine if the defense was maintaining that the FBI had acted improperly in its investigation of Flynn, including whether he had been entrapped. Kelner responded, "No, your honor" to each question. Flynn acknowledged to Sullivan that he was aware that lying to federal investigators was a crime at the time of his initial FBI interview in January 2017.185186187188

Political views

Flynn is a registered Democrat, having grown up in a "very strong Democratic family".189 However, he was a keynote speaker during the first night of the 2016 Republican National Convention,190 and he was a surrogate and top national security adviser for President Donald Trump.

During a July 10, 2016, interview on ABC News' This Week, when asked by host Martha Raddatz about the issue of abortion, Flynn stated, "women have to be able to choose."191192 The next day, Flynn said on Fox News that he is a "pro-life Democrat".193

Flynn is a supporter of current Israeli policies.194195 He is also an opponent of the Iran nuclear deal. In February 2017, Flynn said that "the Obama administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran's malign actions – including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violations of international norms".196 Flynn accused Yemen's Houthi rebels of being one of Iran's "proxy terrorist groups" in February 2017.197 Flynn also criticized Obama's administration for arming Syrian rebels linked to Salafi jihadism.198 According to Flynn, the U.S. is "at war with a radical component of Islam".199 Flynn has been a board member of ACT! for America,200 and sees the Muslim faith as one of the root causes of Islamist terrorism.201 He has described Islam as a political ideology and a cancer.202203 He once tweeted that "fear of Muslims is RATIONAL"204 and included a video link claiming that Islam wants "80% of people enslaved or exterminated".205 Initially supportive of Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US, Flynn later told Al Jazeera that a blanket ban was unworkable and has called instead for "vetting" of entrants from countries like Syria.206 Flynn has stated the U.S. "should extradite Fethullah Gülen" to Turkey and "work constructively with Russia" in Syria.207208 In 2016, he said that he had personally seen photos of signs in the Southwest border area that were in Arabic to help Muslims entering the United States illegally. An officer of the National Border Patrol Council responded that the organization was not aware of any such signs.209

Writings

Flynn co-authored a report in January 2010 through the Center for a New American Security, entitled Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan.210 That report, which became influential,211 argued that U.S. intelligence agencies "must open their doors to anyone who is willing to exchange information, including Afghans and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) as well as the US military and its allies".212

Flynn is also an author of The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies, co-authored with Michael Ledeen, which was published by St. Martin's Press in 2016.213 In reviewing the book, Will McCants of the Brookings Institution described Flynn's worldview as a confused combination of neoconservatism (an insistence on destroying what he sees as an alliance of tyranny, dictatorships, and radical Islamist regimes) and realism (support for working with "friendly tyrants"), although he acknowledged that this could be due to the book having two authors.214

Awards and decorations

Lieutenant General Flynn's decorations, medals and badges include:215216

Badge Master Parachutist Badge
1st row Defense Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
2nd row Legion of Merit
with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal
with one silver oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Commendation Medal
3rd row Army Commendation Medal
with four bronze oak leaf clusters
Army Achievement Medal
with one bronze oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal
with one bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
with two bronze service stars
4th row Afghanistan Campaign Medal Iraq Campaign Medal
with three bronze service stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
5th row Humanitarian Service Medal Army Service Ribbon Overseas Service Ribbon NATO Medal
Badge Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Badge Ranger tab

Other U.S. agency decorations
US Intelligence Community's Gold Seal Medallion217
National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal218
National Security Agency Director's Distinguished Service Medal219
US Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Award220

Other awards and recognitions

References


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