Politics –
Michael Flynn Announces:
‘I Plead The Fifth!’

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has decided to adopt a new strategy in the investigation of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia: plead the fifth!

Politics
In what basically amounts to a middle finger to congress, Flynn announced on Monday that not only will he invoke his Fifth Amendment right and decline to testify before the Senate intelligence committee, but he will also refuse to hand over any and all documents subpoenaed by the committee on the grounds that it could incriminate him. A source close to Flynn added that it would have been “highly imprudent for him not to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights” given that several members of Congress have called for his prosecution.

Previously, Michael Flynn attempted to strike a deal to tell all in exchange for blanket immunity. Since that deal never materialized, Flynn has come down with a sudden case of lockjaw and now refuses to talk.

As CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin explained, you don’t seek an immunity deal unless you’re guilty and in need of protecting yourself. However, Flynn has taken suspicion to a new level by demanding that he either be given immunity and never prosecuted, or else he will refuse to cooperate.  Those are undoubtedly the desperate measures a guilty man gasping for his last breath in an attempt to save himself.

Sadly, the bad news for Michael Flynn doesn’t end there.

On Monday, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee released a letter showcasing how Flynn appears to have lied to security clearance investigators by telling them he was paid by “U.S. companies” when he traveled to Russia in December 2015.

“The Oversight Committee has in our possession documents that appear to indicate that General Flynn lied to the investigators who interviewed him in 2016 as part of his security clearance renewal,” Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland wrote in a letter to Republican committee chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah.

“Specifically, the Committee has obtained a Report of Investigation dated March 14, 2016, showing that General Flynn told security clearance investigators that he was paid by ‘U.S. companies’ when he traveled to Moscow in December 2015 to dine at a gala with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The actual source of the funds for General Flynn’s trip was not a US company, but the Russian media propaganda arm, RT.”

Additionally, it was also revealed that when Flynn was asked to disclose any business relationships or transactions with foreign entities, he opted to leave that line blank on his security clearance form.

“It was a lie of omission,” a US official said.

Politics
Flynn’s refusal to cooperate has once again put Donald Trump on the hot seat.  Trump was supposed to be the successful tycoon whose business acumen and great decision making was the formula to “Make America Great Again.” However, his decision to hire Flynn at all is considered a travesty, particularly since former President Obama and various members of the intelligence community urged him not to out of concern for Flynn’s questionable ties to Russia. Additionally, Trump’s decision to keep Flynn on staff for 18 days after being warned by former acting Attorney General Sally Yates that Flynn may have been compromised by the Russians is near treasonous.

Ironically, Trump once blasted aides to Hillary Clinton for taking the Fifth Amendment in relation to the investigation of her use of a private email server while secretary of state.

“So there are five people taking the Fifth Amendment, like you see on the mob, right? You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” Trump said during a 2016 presidential rally in Iowa.

Pot meet kettle.

Nevertheless, congressional leaders may need to revisit an immunity deal for Gen. Michael Flynn.  To borrow from the old adage “If these walls could talk,” Flynn just might have an amazing story to tell.

OK WASSUP! discusses politics:
Michael Flynn says ‘I plead the fifth.’