Michael Flynn caves, decides to turn over evidence in Donald Trump’s Russia scandal
The long running standoff between former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the Senate Intelligence Committee has ended in the committee’s favor, with major immediate implications for Donald Trump’s Russia scandal. After having initially invoked the Fifth Amendment in the hope of defying a subpoena, Flynn’s camp is now confirming that he’s caved and has begun the process of cooperating with the investigation.
Michael Flynn’s decision to give in to the inevitable is coming from the Associated Press (link), which confirms that he’s now planning to turn over the requested documented and evidence as soon as next week. It’s not clear if he’s been given a deal or if he’s simply trying to avoid arrest. While Flynn is still apparently declining to testify for now, the documents in question could end up being crucial.
Moreover, this is the first instance of Michael Flynn cooperating with the Trump-Russia investigation on any level. Earlier this year he voluntarily offered to testify, but only on condition of an immunity deal which he had to have known he wasn’t going to get at the time. He then ignored the Senate’s request for relevant documents. After those documents were subpoena’d, Flynn initially responded by invoking the Fifth Amendment. But now Flynn is finally on board with the investigation – which is something that Palmer Report first reported five days ago.
This new AP report serves to largely corroborate a single-sourced report from last week that Michael Flynn had begun the process of cooperating with the investigation (link). And in the larger picture, this news means that Flynn has decided to prioritize his own freedom over his personal loyalty to Donald Trump. Flynn is likely sitting on a treasure trove of damning evidence about the Trump campaign’s connections to the Russian government, considering his own longstanding close ties to the Russian government.
