Donald Trump planning to pardon former national security advisor: US media
- Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to FBI for lying about having Russian contacts
- The Jusice department withdrew a case looking into the 2016 investigation this year in May
- By pardoning Flynn, Trump will be able to get the mater out of the court
US President Donald Trump plans to pardon his former
national security advisor Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to FBI for
lying about having Russian contacts, AFP reported citing US media.
New York Times and Axios both have quoted unnamed sources,
highlighting that Trump plans to pardon Flynn in several pardons he will hand
out in the final phase of his presidency.
The focus of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller-led
investigation into Moscow’s influence in the US Presidential Election in 2016, had
at its base Flynn’s secret talks with the Russian ambassador to Washington on December, 2016.
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Within 22 days of taking office, Trump fired Flynn.
With the 45th President of the United States
alleging that the entire investigation was a ‘witch hunt’, Flynn, a former army
general and head of the Defence Intelligence Agency, was simultaneously portrayed
as a ‘good man’.
Interestingly, the Justice Department withdrew its case
against Flynn in May,2020 alleging that there was not enough significance to
the alleged lies purported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
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A federal judge, however, demanded a further legal review of
the incident.
With Trump pardoning Flynn, the matter will be taken out of
court.
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