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| Mueller Rejects Flynn’s Attempt to Portray Himself as Victim of the F.B.I. | Mueller Rejects Flynn’s Attempt to Portray Himself as Victim of the F.B.I. |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The special counsel’s office rejected on Friday a suggestion from Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, that he had been tricked into lying to F.B.I. agents investigating Russia’s election interference and ties to Trump associates. | WASHINGTON — The special counsel’s office rejected on Friday a suggestion from Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, that he had been tricked into lying to F.B.I. agents investigating Russia’s election interference and ties to Trump associates. |
| Prosecutors laid out a pattern of lies by Mr. Flynn to Vice President Mike Pence, senior White House aides, federal investigators and the media in the weeks before and after the presidential inauguration as he scrambled to obscure the truth about his communications during the presidential transition with Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time. | Prosecutors laid out a pattern of lies by Mr. Flynn to Vice President Mike Pence, senior White House aides, federal investigators and the media in the weeks before and after the presidential inauguration as he scrambled to obscure the truth about his communications during the presidential transition with Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time. |
| Neither Mr. Flynn nor his lawyers have explained why he lied. But in a memo this week seeking leniency, they revealed details from the interview that helped stoke an unfounded theory that Mr. Flynn’s relaxed appearance during the F.B.I. agents’ questioning was potential evidence that he did not actually lie, and they blamed the F.B.I. for not informing Mr. Flynn ahead of time that lying to agents is illegal. Prosecutors repudiated the argument. | Neither Mr. Flynn nor his lawyers have explained why he lied. But in a memo this week seeking leniency, they revealed details from the interview that helped stoke an unfounded theory that Mr. Flynn’s relaxed appearance during the F.B.I. agents’ questioning was potential evidence that he did not actually lie, and they blamed the F.B.I. for not informing Mr. Flynn ahead of time that lying to agents is illegal. Prosecutors repudiated the argument. |
| “A sitting national security adviser, former head of an intelligence agency, retired lieutenant general and 33-year veteran of the armed forces knows he should not lie to federal agents,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. “He does not need to be warned it is a crime to lie to federal agents to know the importance of telling them the truth.” | “A sitting national security adviser, former head of an intelligence agency, retired lieutenant general and 33-year veteran of the armed forces knows he should not lie to federal agents,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. “He does not need to be warned it is a crime to lie to federal agents to know the importance of telling them the truth.” |
| Mr. Flynn’s bid to blame investigators appeared to be directed at Mr. Trump, who seized on the details and defended Mr. Flynn on Thursday on Twitter and on Fox News. “They convinced him he did lie, and he made some kind of a deal,” Mr. Trump said in the television interview. | Mr. Flynn’s bid to blame investigators appeared to be directed at Mr. Trump, who seized on the details and defended Mr. Flynn on Thursday on Twitter and on Fox News. “They convinced him he did lie, and he made some kind of a deal,” Mr. Trump said in the television interview. |
| Mr. Flynn’s disclosure called into question why he waited until just before his sentencing on Tuesday to argue that he was coerced into lying when he had pleaded guilty last year to the charge and said at the time, “I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong.” | Mr. Flynn’s disclosure called into question why he waited until just before his sentencing on Tuesday to argue that he was coerced into lying when he had pleaded guilty last year to the charge and said at the time, “I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong.” |
| It also prompted a quick response from Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who is presiding over the case. He ordered that lawyers and prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, turn over documents related to Mr. Flynn’s Jan. 24, 2017, interview and could question Mr. Flynn during his sentencing about why they decided now to make an issue of the circumstances of the F.B.I. interview. | |
| Judge Sullivan is wary of prosecutorial misconduct. In 2009, he dismissed the ethics conviction of former Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, and scolded prosecutors, who had withdrawn the charges, for improperly withholding evidence. | Judge Sullivan is wary of prosecutorial misconduct. In 2009, he dismissed the ethics conviction of former Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, and scolded prosecutors, who had withdrawn the charges, for improperly withholding evidence. |
| Lawyers for Mr. Flynn described his lying to the F.B.I. as an “uncharacteristic error in judgment.” But Mr. Trump fired Mr. Flynn, who briefly served as his national security adviser, for lying to the vice president about the calls with Mr. Kislyak. | Lawyers for Mr. Flynn described his lying to the F.B.I. as an “uncharacteristic error in judgment.” But Mr. Trump fired Mr. Flynn, who briefly served as his national security adviser, for lying to the vice president about the calls with Mr. Kislyak. |
| Mr. Flynn’s calls to Mr. Kislyak, during which he made assurances about the incoming administration, were part of a broader effort by senior Trump officials to create foreign policy before they were in power, and they alarmed F.B.I. investigators who were already scrutinizing Mr. Flynn as part of the Russia inquiry. | Mr. Flynn’s calls to Mr. Kislyak, during which he made assurances about the incoming administration, were part of a broader effort by senior Trump officials to create foreign policy before they were in power, and they alarmed F.B.I. investigators who were already scrutinizing Mr. Flynn as part of the Russia inquiry. |
| Andrew G. McCabe, then the deputy director of the F.B.I., called Mr. Flynn, who agreed to meet with agents at the White House. Mr. McCabe and his colleagues had decided not warn Mr. Flynn that lying to the F.B.I. was a crime, a decision that Mr. Flynn’s allies have seized on as proof of a trap. | Andrew G. McCabe, then the deputy director of the F.B.I., called Mr. Flynn, who agreed to meet with agents at the White House. Mr. McCabe and his colleagues had decided not warn Mr. Flynn that lying to the F.B.I. was a crime, a decision that Mr. Flynn’s allies have seized on as proof of a trap. |
| When the agents arrived, Mr. Flynn appeared “relaxed and jocular,” offering to give them a tour of the White House, his lawyers wrote. One agent said Mr. Flynn was “unguarded” and “clearly saw the F.B.I. agents as allies.” | When the agents arrived, Mr. Flynn appeared “relaxed and jocular,” offering to give them a tour of the White House, his lawyers wrote. One agent said Mr. Flynn was “unguarded” and “clearly saw the F.B.I. agents as allies.” |
| During the interview, Mr. Flynn denied asking Mr. Kislyak that Russia refrain from reacting harshly to sanctions imposed by the Obama administration over Russia’s campaign of disruption and said he did not remember Mr. Kisklyak saying that Moscow had backed off as a result of Mr. Flynn’s request. | During the interview, Mr. Flynn denied asking Mr. Kislyak that Russia refrain from reacting harshly to sanctions imposed by the Obama administration over Russia’s campaign of disruption and said he did not remember Mr. Kisklyak saying that Moscow had backed off as a result of Mr. Flynn’s request. |
| Law enforcement officials grew so concerned about his contacts with Mr. Kislyak and his false accounts of them that they warned the White House that Mr. Flynn might be compromised by the Kremlin. | Law enforcement officials grew so concerned about his contacts with Mr. Kislyak and his false accounts of them that they warned the White House that Mr. Flynn might be compromised by the Kremlin. |
| One of the agents who interviewed Mr. Flynn was Peter Strzok, the F.B.I. senior counterintelligence agent who disparaged Mr. Trump in inflammatory text messages and helped oversee the Hillary Clinton email investigation as well as the Russia inquiry in its early months. | One of the agents who interviewed Mr. Flynn was Peter Strzok, the F.B.I. senior counterintelligence agent who disparaged Mr. Trump in inflammatory text messages and helped oversee the Hillary Clinton email investigation as well as the Russia inquiry in its early months. |
| Mr. Strzok and Mr. McCabe, who were both fired this year, have been frequent targets in Mr. Trump’s attacks on law enforcement. | Mr. Strzok and Mr. McCabe, who were both fired this year, have been frequent targets in Mr. Trump’s attacks on law enforcement. |
| Mr. Trump has long expressed sympathy for Mr. Flynn, and one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers even raised the idea of a pardon for Mr. Flynn last year as he was debating whether to assist Mr. Mueller’s investigators. It was not clear whether Mr. Trump was aware of the discussions. | Mr. Trump has long expressed sympathy for Mr. Flynn, and one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers even raised the idea of a pardon for Mr. Flynn last year as he was debating whether to assist Mr. Mueller’s investigators. It was not clear whether Mr. Trump was aware of the discussions. |
| But after pleading guilty, Mr. Flynn began cooperative extensively with the Justice Department, sitting for 19 interviews with prosecutors in multiple investigations. | But after pleading guilty, Mr. Flynn began cooperative extensively with the Justice Department, sitting for 19 interviews with prosecutors in multiple investigations. |
| Prosecutors asked for little to no prison time because of his willingness to help. Mr. Flynn’s lawyer have said their client deserves only probation because of his assistance to Mr. Mueller and his time in the military. | Prosecutors asked for little to no prison time because of his willingness to help. Mr. Flynn’s lawyer have said their client deserves only probation because of his assistance to Mr. Mueller and his time in the military. |
| “Even when circumstances later came to light that prompted extensive public debate about the investigation of General Flynn, including revelations that certain F.B.I. officials involved in the January 24 interview of General Flynn were themselves being investigated for misconduct, General Flynn did not back away from accepting responsibility for his actions,” Mr. Flynn’s lawyers wrote. | “Even when circumstances later came to light that prompted extensive public debate about the investigation of General Flynn, including revelations that certain F.B.I. officials involved in the January 24 interview of General Flynn were themselves being investigated for misconduct, General Flynn did not back away from accepting responsibility for his actions,” Mr. Flynn’s lawyers wrote. |
| James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director fired by Mr. Trump, testified last week before Congress that the theory being pushed by allies of Mr. Flynn about his body language was bogus. “There’s no doubt he was lying,” Mr. Comey said. | James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director fired by Mr. Trump, testified last week before Congress that the theory being pushed by allies of Mr. Flynn about his body language was bogus. “There’s no doubt he was lying,” Mr. Comey said. |