Donald Trump’s Michael Flynn scandal just took an even uglier turn
Yesterday, William Barr and his DOJ informed Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan that they were refusing his order to turn over transcripts of the phone calls between Michael Flynn and the Russian Ambassador. Even as we wait for the judge to dish out what are likely to be very harsh contempt of court penalties, Donald Trump’s Flynn scandal just took another ugly turn.
New documents confirm what’s long been suspected about Michael Flynn: he was on the take from numerous foreign governments, for dollar amounts big and small, while he was a senior adviser to Donald Trump. Based on the documents posted last night by Politico, Flynn took a half a million dollars from the government of Turkey during the election – and at one point Turkey complained to Flynn that Donald Trump hadn’t publicly taken enough of a pro-Turkey stance.
Again, this was while Donald Trump was running for president, and while Michael Flynn was one of his most trusted campaign advisers. If Turkey was being so blatant as to complain to Flynn in writing that Trump wasn’t playing his part, are we really supposed to believe that Trump wasn’t in on it? In fact this may paint a new light on another Flynn-related development from yesterday.
William Barr and his DOJ were willing to turn over a transcript of a Michael Flynn voicemail yesterday, even though it severely incriminated Donald Trump’s former attorney John Dowd. It’s clear that Barr is willing to throw Trump’s people under the bus as needed. But Barr refused to turn over transcripts of Flynn’s transition period phone calls with Russia, risking contempt of court in the process. This suggests that Flynn’s Russia phone calls directly incriminate Trump.
