Michael T. Flynn

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Michael T. Flynn (2012)

Michael Thomas "Mike" Flynn (born December 1958 in Middletown , Rhode Island ) is a retired American officer and National Security Advisor . He was a lieutenant general in the United States Army , director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JFCC-ISR), and a member of the Military Intelligence Board .

On January 22, 2017, Flynn became National Security Advisor to US President Donald Trump , but resigned under pressure on February 13, 2017 because he was alleged to have had contacts with foreign bodies that he had not previously disclosed. Flynn withdrew a guilty pledge from 2017 in January 2020. On May 8, 2020, all charges against him were dropped by the prosecution, but the responsible federal judge ordered the case to be postponed for further decision, as Flynn had already pleaded guilty.

Life

origin

Michael Thomas Flynn was born in Middletown, Rhode Island, and grew up as one of nine children. His parents, Helen Frances (Andrews), who worked in real estate, and Charles Francis Flynn, a small town banker, are of Irish descent.

Education and military career

Flynn graduated from the University of Rhode Iceland in 1981 with the degree Bachelor of Science and received the same officer's commission with the award for "Distinguished Military Graduate" of the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps . He then served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division , in the XVIII Airborne Corps , in the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), in the 25th Infantry Division , in the Joint Readiness Training Center , in the Army Intelligence Center , XVIII Airborne Corps (G2) , in Joint Task Force 180, in the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade, in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and in the United States Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Fort Bragg .

Flynn earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Golden Gate University , a Masters of Military Art and Science from Command and General Staff College , a Masters of Arts in National Security and Strategy from Naval War College, and an honorary doctorate from the Institute of World Politics in Washington, DC

Flynn was promoted to Lieutenant General in September 2011 .

DIA Director Michael T. Flynn in June 2014

DIA director

Flynn was director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the US military intelligence service , from July 24, 2012 until his early recall on August 2, 2014 . Flynn, according to his own account, was pushed into retirement in 2014 for speaking inconvenient truths about fighting Islamic extremists. Others blamed his leadership style. His planned reform of the DIA intelligence agency met with much resistance.

Public security policy statements

Flynn had publicly said that the United States and other support states of the secular rebels in Syria knowingly support Al-Qaeda in order to put pressure on the Syrian government. But this happened too late and inadequately. In addition, the rise of the Islamic State Organization was noticed early on, but too little or too late something was done about it.

In 2015, Flynn came under pressure after performing alongside Russian President Putin at a gala on Russian state-funded TV channel Russia Today (RT) in Moscow. Flynn admitted that he was paid to appear and stated that he saw no difference between RT and American news channels like CNN .

Adviser to Donald Trumps

In the 2016 US presidential election campaign, Flynn supported the Republican candidate Donald Trump and advised his campaign on foreign policy and military issues. In the summer of 2016 it was announced that Flynn shortlisted vice presidential candidate was on the side Trumps, although he so far as voters of the Democrats was registered.

After Donald Trump's election as 45th President of the United States, Flynn was traded for a position in Trump's future cabinet or in his presidential office , for example as Secretary of Defense (for which he would have needed special permission from Congress because of his military career) or as an advisor to the National Safety. On January 22, 2017, Flynn was sworn in as National Security Advisor after he was heavily criticized for his sometimes extreme political views and harsh manner.

His first official appearance in front of the media on February 1, 2017 was directed against Iran's missile tests. Flynn called the tests a provocation and a violation of resolutions of the UN Security Council , saying in part: "We warn Iran today officially".

Resignation and investigation against Flynn

On February 10, 2017, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported that, contrary to his previous statements, Flynn had spoken to Russian ambassador Sergei Kisljak in Washington at the end of December 2016 about the new sanctions imposed by then President Obama in a telephone conversation apparently recorded by the intelligence service . The American Federal Police FBI questioned Flynn shortly after Trump took office on the matter; then acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned the White House on Jan. 26 that Flynn could be blackmailed by Russia given the discrepancies between his public statements and facts. Flynn stepped down from office on February 13, 2017. Keith Kellogg took over the post temporarily, his successor was HR McMaster .

On April 27, 2017, it was announced that the Pentagon Inspector General had started an investigation into whether Flynn was accepting money from foreign governments without authorization. During his security clearance at the Pentagon in February 2016, Flynn had apparently deliberately made false statements that he had no contacts and financial connections abroad, which is a criminal offense, as the New York Times reported in May 2017.

The US Senate Intelligence Committee ordered Flynn to disclose his contacts with Russian officials and business people. Flynn rejected this on May 22, 2017, citing his right to remain silent under the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution , which conflicts with the duty of Congress to control government action.

For the Russian campaign investigation used special prosecutor Robert Mueller left the White House call to publish documents relating to Flynn.

FBI investigation into Turkey Flynn plans

Mueller also investigated suspicions that Flynn received secret payments from the Turkish government during the closing stages of the 2016 presidential campaign .

On November 8, 2016, election day, Flynn published an article in the capital newspaper The Hill , in which he advocated closer cooperation with Turkey, especially militarily. He described Turkey as the strongest ally against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and a "source of stability in the region". Flynn suggested that Fethullah Gülen , whom he described as a radical Islamist and a "Turkish Osama bin Laden ", should finally be extradited. The distance to Turkey that was taken under the Obama administration must be corrected, the Allies must be viewed as a priority and the world must also be viewed from the Turkish perspective. It then became known that Flynn was representing Turkey's interests from August 9 to November 2016, when he was already acting as the future National Security Advisor , and received US $ 530,000 for it. The money came from the Dutch company Inovo BV, which belonged to the businessman and chairman of the US-Turkish business association TAIK Kamil Ekim Alptekin . The documents in the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) database showed that Alptekin had commissioned the "Flynn Intel Group" to collect information about Gülen and to produce a video about him.

In March 2017, Jim Woolsey (the former CIA director, Flynn employee and Trump campaign aide) told reporters that Flynn had discussed the possibility of arranging an unusual (and possibly extra-legal) extradition of Gülen at a meeting with Turkish officials in September 2016 . Apparently, it was discussed whether Gülen could be flown secretly in a private jet from the USA to the Turkish prison island of İmralı . The Turkish representatives had offered Flynn a lot of money, but it was unclear how detailed the deliberations were and whether money had actually flowed. Woolsey was concerned about the incident and raised the matter with then Vice President Joe Biden through a friend.

In May 2017 it was reported that in January Flynn blocked a plan by the Obama administration to arm Kurds in Syria in the fight against the terrorist militia IS . This plan was rejected by the Turkish government, whose interests Flynn represented at the time as an unregistered foreign agent.

In November 2017, the Wall Street Journal and NBC TV station reported that Mueller was specifically investigating the suspicion that Flynn and his son would receive up to $ 15 million for extraditing Gulen after Trump's inauguration . Flynn's attorney said all allegations were false and Turkey denied having considered kidnapping Gulen from the US. The Turkish Embassy in Washington described the corresponding report from the "Wall Street Journal" as "ridiculous". Ankara is demanding the extradition of Gulen, who it believes was the mastermind behind the attempted coup in July 2016, said the Turkish embassy in Washington. In doing so, you are not treading any unlawful paths. In November 2017, there was evidence that Flynn was now cooperating with Mueller.

Confession of guilt

On December 1, 2017, the Special Counsel's Bureau announced that Flynn had pleaded guilty to false testimony to the FBI. Flynn admitted that he lied to investigators in a voluntary FBI interview on January 24, 2017 about contacts between members of Trump's campaign team and the Russian government and his talks with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016. In these talks, Flynn had asked the ambassador about to take any escalating countermeasures against the fines imposed at the end of the reign of Barack Obama against Russia sanctions and adopted on 23 December 2016 against the Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank directed UN Resolution 2334 does not support . In his FBI interview he had truthfully denied this. Flynn also admitted violations of the disclosure requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for the cooperation between his lobbying firm Flynn Intel Group, Inc. and the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . The confession of guilt and the description of the events took place on oath . Flynn is therefore considered legally guilty had been found to offenders , only the judgment of the at sentencing ( "sentencing" ) pending by the judge. In contrast to the German legal system, in which the sentence is also announced at the same time as the conviction, the verdict and the sentencing in proceedings under US law are determined in separate hearings, with several months between them. Flynn's confession of guilt reduces the expected possible range of sentences from up to five years to a period of up to six months or a fine. Flynn said in a public press release that he would now cooperate with the special investigator's team.

Revocation and termination of the proceedings

In January 2020, Flynn, through his lawyers, applied to withdraw his confession because the prosecution had failed to adhere to the agreement. At the end of April 2020, his lawyers released documents from the FBI investigation which, in their opinion, showed that Flynn had been explicitly told to lie during his interrogations. US President Donald Trump then announced that Flynn was the victim of "dirty, disgusting cops" and saw him as "completely exonerated". He expressly considered reinstatement open.

On May 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice filed for the case to be dismissed after being recommended by the appointed prosecutor. The ministry can no longer bring plausible charges against Flynn because the interview with Flynn was not conducted on a legitimate basis. Donald Trump called Flynn a "hero"; the former employees of the Ministry of Justice, however, are "human scum". Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe disagreed with this view. The position of the Ministry is wrong and contradicts the findings of Robert Mueller and the Inspector General. The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives , Jerrold Nadler (D) was outraged by the decision and claimed it was politically motivated. He announced that Attorney General William Barr would soon be questioned in committee for decision. Ranking member Jim Jordan (R) described the termination of the indictment as "justice". Barr defended himself against the allegation of merely obeying the will of the president by pointing out his duty to be fair. It is sad that politics is now so partisan that it has lost all sense of justice. Previously, prominent voices from the Democratic Party, such as Senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren , had called for the minister's resignation.

Vice President Mike Pence said Flynn is a patriot and that he would be happy to see him again in the US government.

Political opinions

Michael T. Flynn at an election campaign event for Donald Trump in the "Phoenix Convention Center", Phoenix , Arizona (end of October 2016)

In May 2016, Flynn gave an interview to Al Jazeera and was asked if he supported Trump in his demand to murder the families of terrorist suspects. Flynn replied that one had to consider the circumstances of the situation.

Flynn had previously opposed torture methods such as waterboarding . In an August 2016 interview with the Washington Post, in response to Trump's demand to be open to the introduction of torture, he said he [Flynn] was reluctant to take options off the table. He described Islam as "cancer" and as a "political ideology" that "hides behind the label religion".

Flynn rejects war with drones off because drone strikes create more new terrorists would kill, and called Obama's strategy of drones war as a failure.

additional

In 2010, a military investigation found that Flynn leaked classified information to foreign military personnel while serving in Afghanistan.

In July 2016 , he tweeted the comment, “The corrupt Democratic machine will do and say anything to get #NeverHillary into power. This is a new low ”as a comment on his retweet of this message from a third party:“ Not anymore, Jews. Not Anymore, ”(“ This corrupt democratic machine will do and say anything to bring #NeverHillary to power. This is a new low ”or“ No more, Jews . No more. ”) This proliferation and thus implicit support Flynn declared an anti-Semitic message a few hours later a mistake; he deleted his tweet and apologized. Originally it was about the allegations that Russia had launched the stolen DNC emails via Wikileaks .

Flynn had also spread rumors on Twitter about Hillary Clinton's involvement in money laundering and child sex crimes before the election: “Make up your mind - New York Police Department reveals new Hillary emails: money laundering, child sex crimes, etc. Must read! "There was a link to the" True Pundit "story, in which the anonymous author claimed that" senior officers in the New York Police Department "had enough evidence against Hillary Clinton" to put her behind bars for life. " Nothing was revealed, however. His son, Michael G. Flynn, has been fired from Trump's transition team for telling untruths about Pizzagate .

Awards

Selection, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards :

Web links

Commons : Michael T. Flynn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Panetta: Under Burgess, DIA Evolved Into Global Agency . Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  2. ^ A b FAZ.net: Trump apparently wants Flynn as a national security advisor
  3. Mehdi Hasan : Who is to blame for the rise of ISIL? Michael T Flynn, the former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, on how to deal with ISIL and Iran , Al Jazeera , July 29, 2015; Barbara Tasch: Former US military intelligence chief: We knew something like ISIS was coming - and screwed it up , Business Insider, August 10, 2015.
  4. ^ Dana Priest: Trump adviser Michael T. Flynn on his dinner with Putin and why Russia Today is just like CNN. washingtonpost.com. August 15, 2016, accessed May 9, 2020.
  5. Trump on VP: There are 2 generals under consideration , Politico, July 6, 2016 (English).
  6. CNN .
  7. FAZ.net November 18, 2016: Angry general with a clear enemy image .
  8. Counterintelligence checked Trump advisor Flynn. In: Spiegel Online , January 23, 2017.
  9. Contacts with Russia: Trump's security advisor Flynn resigns. In: Tagesschau.de , February 14, 2017.
  10. US reaction to missile test: "We are officially warning Iran today." In: Die Welt , February 2, 2017.
  11. FAZ.net February 11, 2017: Wrong promises to Russia?
  12. ^ FAZ.net: FBI questioned Flynn shortly after taking office
  13. ^ Greg Miller, Philip Rucker: Michael Flynn resigns as national security adviser. In: The Washington Post , February 14, 2017.
  14. ^ Reuters.com: Pentagon probes Trump's ex-adviser Flynn over foreign payments
  15. Mark Mazzetti, Matthew Rosenberg: Michael Flynn Misled Pentagon About Russia Ties, Letter Says. In: The New York Times , May 22, 2017 (English).
  16. Michael Flynn: Secret Service Committee requires documents on contacts with Russia. In: Zeit Online , May 11, 2017.
  17. Karoun Demirjan: Flynn takes 5th on Senate subpoena as a top House Democrat alleges new evidence of lies. In: The Washington Post , May 22, 2017.
  18. Donald Trump: Did ex-advisor Michael Flynn get money from Turkey? In: Spiegel Online , August 4, 2017.
  19. Our ally Turkey is in crisis and needs our support , The Hill, November 8, 2016
  20. Trump's Top Military Adviser Is Lobbying For Obscure Company With Ties To Turkish Government , November 11, 2016 /
  21. nytimes.com: Michael Flynn Was Paid to Represent Turkey's Interests During Trump Campaign , March 10, 2017
  22. James V. Grimaldi, Shane Harris and Aruna Viswanatha: Mueller Probes Flynn's Role in Alleged Plan to Deliver Cleric to Turkey , Nov. 10, 2017
  23. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ex-cia-director-mike-flynn-and-turkish-officials-discussed-removal-of-erdogan-foe-from-us-1490380426
  24. ^ Courtney Kube: Flynn Delayed Anti-ISIS Plan That Turkey Opposed . In: NBC News , May 18, 2017.
  25. Elise Labott, Barbara Starr, Ryan Browne: Flynn rejected Obama's offer to arm Syrian Kurds, something Turkey would oppose . In: CNN , May 18, 2017.
  26. https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Ankara-statt-Moskau-Trumps-Ex-Sicherheitsberater-arbeitete-im-Dienste-der-tuerkischen-Regierung-3717878.html
  27. Turkey denies reports of Gülen kidnapping. In: Tagesschau.de , November 12, 2017.
  28. Turkey Denies Enlisting Michael Flynn to Seize Erdogan Rival Living in the US , Haaretz, 12 Nov 2017
  29. FAZ.net: Flynn is now apparently cooperating with Russia investigators
  30. nytimes.com: A Split From Trump Indicates That Flynn Is Moving to Cooperate With Mueller
  31. 18 USC 1001.
  32. US Department of Justice December 1, 2017: Court Information on Michael T. Flynn's Admission of Guilt , accessed December 1, 2017.
  33. United Nations Security Council December 23, 2016: UN Resolution 2334: Israel's Settlements Have No Legal Validity, Constitute Flagrant Violation of International Law, Security Council Reaffirms , accessed on December 1, 2017.
  34. US Department of Justice December 1, 2017: Michael T. Flynn: Statement of the Offense , accessed December 1, 2017.
  35. MSNBC December 2, 2017: Donald Trump White House Was 'Blindsided' By Michael Flynn Guilty Plea | The 11th Hour | MSNBC , accessed December 2, 2017.
  36. CBSBoston December 1, 2017: Why Michael Flynn's Guilty Plea Is A Big Deal , accessed December 2, 2017.
  37. Subject to extremely limited appeal in the case of very unlikely procedural errors.
  38. In the case of a guilty plea accepted by the court, the judicial procedure to determine guilt does not apply.
  39. US Department of Justice December 1, 2017: Plea Agreement Michael T. Flynn, p. 3 , accessed December 1, 2017.
  40. Politico December 1, 2017: Full text: Michael Flynn's statement on federal charge , accessed December 2, 2017.
  41. https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/michael-flynn-schuld-101.html
  42. Former Trump employee: Justice drops allegations against Flynn. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . May 8, 2020, accessed May 8, 2020 .
  43. ^ Ian Swanson: Justice moves to drop case against Flynn. In: The Hill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., May 7, 2020, accessed May 8, 2020 .
  44. Rebecca Klar: Barr says it was 'duty' to drop Flynn case: 'It upheld the rule of law'. In: The Hill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., May 7, 2020, accessed May 8, 2020 .
  45. Mike Allen: Exclusive: Pence says he'd be "happy" to see Michael Flynn back in government. In: Axios. May 10, 2020, accessed on May 10, 2020 .
  46. a b He was one of the most respected intel officers of his generation. Now he's leading 'Lock her up' chants . In: Washington Post . August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  47. Muslims grab their hats. In: sueddeutsche.de. November 21, 2016, accessed May 16, 2018 .
  48. Obama's Drone Program Creating More Terrorists Than Killing, Suggests Retired DIA Director , Headlines & Global News, July 18, 2015
  49. washingtonpost.com December 14, 2016: Trump's national security adviser shared secrets without permission, files show
  50. Trump backer Flynn retweets anti-Semitic message, apologizes - CNN.
  51. www.politico.com: Flynn retweets anti-Semitic remark
  52. ^ "Pizzagate" defamation campaign: The lie rules in America , FAZ.net, December 9, 2016
  53. Trump throws conspiracy theorists from his team. In: Zeit Online , December 7, 2016.