Donald Trump: Michael Flynn's actions during transition were lawful
Emails show Flynn did not act alone in contacting Russians – report
FBI agent was removed from Mueller team over anti-Trump texts – report
‘Guilty, your honor’: man who led the ‘lock her up’ chants enters his plea
Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted his defiance over the guilty plea made by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, writing that the general’s “actions during the transition were lawful”.
The president passed comment on the same day it the New York Times reported that a “veteran FBI counterintelligence agent” was removed in the summer from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russian meddling in the US election, after the discovery of an exchange of anti-Trump text messages.
The New York Times also reported that emails “among top transition officials” showed Flynn did not act independently in contacting Russian officials, as the White House has claimed.
Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to one charge of lying to the FBI, regarding conversations he had with the then Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, after Trump’s election victory last November and before he assumed power in January.
Flynn also announced that he was cooperating with Mueller and was ready to testify about Russian contacts. Analysts said his cooperation placed senior Trump aides and the president himself in the line of fire.
On a visit to New York on Saturday to attend fundraisers for his re-election fund and the Republican National Committee, Trump was in a celebratory mood after the Senate passed its tax reform bill in a late-night session.
Asked about Flynn as he left the White House, the president told reporters: “What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. There’s been absolutely no collusion, so we’re very happy. And frankly last night was one of the big nights. We’ll see what happens.”
From New York, where he attended events at the Cipriani restaurant, the Pierre hotel and a private residence, he tweeted: “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice-President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!”
Flynn resigned as national security adviser after 24 days in the role, officially for misleading vice-president Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak. Trump has not previously indicated that he knew Flynn had done something illegal, such as lying to the FBI, as opposed to merely politically improper.
The New York Times released two bombshell reports on Saturday. In one, the newspaper said that among emails its reporters had obtained or had described to them by “someone who had access to transition team communications”, on 29 December adviser KT McFarland wrote to a colleague that sanctions announced by the Obama administration were aimed at discrediting Trump’s victory and would make it harder to ease tensions with a country “which has just thrown the USA election to him”.
The paper reported that a White House lawyer said McFarland – known in the transition team as “Flynn’s brain” – had meant that Democrats were portraying the election result that way.
McFarland, a former Fox News analyst who is now awaiting confirmation as ambassador to Singapore, also wrote that Flynn would be speaking to Kislyak about the sanctions.
Flynn’s conversations with overseas officials during the transition may have contravened the scarcely used Logan Act of 1799, under which it is illegal for unauthorised private citizens to conduct diplomatic conversations with foreign powers.
One of Trump’s lawyers, Ty Cobb, said the Logan Act “certainly does not apply” to transition teams and told the Times “it would have been political malpractice not to discuss sanctions”.
“The presidential transition guide specifically encourages contact with and outreach to foreign dignitaries,” the newspaper quoted Cobb as saying.
The Times also reported that Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, said Mueller removed the agent who participated in the anti-Trump text messages, Peter Strzok, “immediately upon learning of the allegations”.
Strzok had participated in the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. He was reassigned to the FBI’s human resources department, the New York Times reported.
The nature of the messages Strzok exchanged and with whom he communicated was not clear, the Times reported, adding that the justice department’s inspector general is investigating the matter.
“The [inspector general’s office] has been reviewing allegations involving communications between certain individuals, and will report its findings regarding those allegations promptly upon completion of the review of them,” the inspector general’s office said in a statement.
Mueller, the paper said, “moved swiftly in the face of what could be perceived as bias by one of his agents”. Trump has sought to cast doubt on the special counsel’s investigation, criticising his links to James Comey, the FBI director fired by the president in May, and alleging bias throughout US intelligence agencies.
