Former US national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to one felony count of lying to the FBI about conversations he had with Russia’s ambassador last year, bringing the special counsel investigation into the 2016 election deeper into President Donald Trump’s inner circle, US media reports said.
The charge from special counsel Robert Mueller — who is probing Russian interference in the election and whether any members of the Trump campaign were involved — is the latest turn of fortunes for Flynn, a retired army general who served as national security adviser for just 24 days. He is accused of lying to FBI agents in January, shortly after the inauguration, about conversations he had with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in late December 2016 during the presidential transition period.
Flynn allegedly told agents that he had not asked Kislyak to avoid escalating tensions over sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama, and he also told agents he had not asked Kislyak to delay or defeat a pending resolution at the UN Security Council, both of which proved to be false, according to court documents.
The charge brings the criminal case into the Trump White House and raise questions about who else in the administration Mueller could be eyeing. And the news comes as a blow for the president, who defended Flynn even after he fired him for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about the same conversations with Kislyak.
Former FBI director James Comey has said Trump asked him in February to go easy on Flynn. Trump later fired Comey.
Flynn’s alleged misstatements to the bureau predate Mueller’s investigation. He was named special counsel in May.
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