President Donald Trump announced via tweet on November 25th that he granted a full pardon to Former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, 61, who pleaded guilty twice for lying to the FBI regarding his contact with Russia while working on Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump had said he was considering the pardon in March 2020, despite Flynn’s two guilty pleas.
Over the past three years, Flynn had followed up his guilty plea with attempts to withdraw it, in part due to what he called “entrapment” by the FBI. That attempt to withdraw his guilty plea was followed by a hotly contested decision by Attorney General William Barr in May to drop the case.
Flynn had been a top campaign surrogate for Trump during Trump’s successful run for the presidency in 2016. During the campaign, Flynn was often seen and heard in numerous public venues leading crowds saying, “Lock her up," referring to Trump’s opponent in the race, Hillary Clinton.
After formally being fired by prior President Barack Obama for his work as the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, Flynn still was hired by Trump as the National Security Advisor when Trump was elected.
Flynn’s tenure was brief, however, lasting only 22 days when it was made public the retired general had lied to Vice President-elect Mike Pence and numerous other officials including the FBI that he had been communicating with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
When special counsel Robert Mueller investigated allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Flynn cooperated. Once convicted, Trump and the White House publicly criticized Mueller and publicly said Flynn had been an unwitting victim of a “hoax” investigation.
The Mueller probe mesmerized the nation but did not establish any clear link between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Yet damning evidence documented the presence of Russian interference in the presidential race that benefited Trump and was welcomed by Trump’s campaign.
In total, six Trump associates were charged with crimes or convicted as a result of the Mueller probe. In July, Trump also commuted the sentence of former advisor Roger Stone, who had been found guilty and convicted of lying to congress.
Flynn’s family issued an official statement about the presidential pardon, thanking Trump for “answering our prayers and the prayers of a nation by removing the heavy burden of injustice off the shoulders of our brother Michael, with a full pardon of innocence.”
