Former national security adviser Michael Flynn urged the Russian ambassador to take “reciprocal” actions in response to Obama administration sanctions for election interference, newly released transcripts show
Incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn told Russia’s ambassador to Washington in late 2016 to take “reciprocal” actions in response to Obama administration sanctions for election interference, rather than escalating the situation into a “tit for tat.”
The exchanges are at the heart of the controversy over the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump campaign aides’ contacts with Russian officials throughout. They were released Friday as part of aand obtained by POLITICO, detailing conversations between Flynn, the retired lieutenant general, and Kisylak in the weeks before President Donald Trump took office.
One transcript appears to detail a conversation between Flynn and Kislyak about a U.N. Security Council vote on condemning Israeli settlement moves in the West Bank. “[Y]ou know that the strategic goal is stability in the Middle East,” Flynn told Kislyak. “That’s the strategic goal. And, and, you know, between you and I, and you know this, and we know this, you know between Moscow and Washington.
The transcripts also predate the 2016 election, briefly describing a call Flynn made to Kislyak on January 5, 2016, to express his condolences to Kislyak about the death of Igor Sergun. Sergun was the director of Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU. Obama, according to the email, told Comey to conduct the investigation “by the book.” But Trump has seized on the episode to allege, without evidence, that Obama committed an unspecific crime against his incoming administration.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Michael Flynn transcripts released, calls with Russian diplomat detailedMichael Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice moved to drop its case against Flynn.
Read more »
Barr taps prosecutor to review unmasking related to Flynn, Russia probe - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web.
Read more »
Michael Flynn transcripts released, calls with Russian diplomat detailedMichael Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice moved to drop its case against Flynn.
Read more »
Summaries of Michael Flynn's calls with former Russian ambassador releasedSenate Republicans have released summaries of call transcripts between President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and the former Russian ambassador to the US that are at the center of Flynn's guilty plea and the Justice Department's decision to drop the charges against him.
Read more »
Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Twitter, Facebook That Legal Experts Say Is Likely UnconstitutionalPresident Donald Trump said he signed an executive order to “defend free speech” from powerful social-media companies — an action he took two days after Twitter applied fact-check…
Read more »