Top News Today –
Michael Flynn Resignation
Only The Beginning?

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned late Monday night, amid reports that he had illegal discussions with Russia prior to becoming an official Trump administration member and that both he and Donald Trump may be vulnerable to blackmail by Vladimir Putin.  Is the Flynn resignation only the first shoe of many about to fall?

Top News Today
America is only 3 weeks into the Trump administration and already a top White House official with the highest security clearance has been forced out due to underhanded dealings with a foreign adversary. Now, the entire world is asking the obvious question: exactly what does Russian President Vladimir Putin have on Donald Trump that has him and his administration near implosion?

Prior to the November 8th election, Michael Flynn had covert discussions with the Russian Ambassador to the United States on behalf of Donald Trump regarding US sanctions against Russia. Not only was this illegal but it was immoral, particularly since Flynn and Trump were merely private citizens at the time and because those discussions were counterproductive to the then Obama administration.  Why would a private citizen need to discuss US policy with a foreign government?

When Flynn was directly asked during his confirmation hearings if rumors of him having illegal contact with Russia prior to being confirmed were true, Flynn adamantly denied the charges. Additionally, when the Justice Department warned the White House last month (and before Trump’s inauguration) that Flynn had not been forthright regarding his Russian conversations and that he could be vulnerable to blackmail by Moscow, Trump and his team ignored the warnings and allowed Michael Flynn to operate at the highest levels of US national security.

According to The New York Times, the FBI had been examining Flynn’s phone calls as he came under scrutiny regarding his interactions with Russian officials and his management of the National Security Council. The blackmail risk envisioned by the Justice Department stemmed directly from Flynn’s attempt to cover his tracks. Since the Russians knew what had been said on the call, if they wanted Michael Flynn to do something, they could have easily threatened to expose him if he refused.

Additionally, the Army has been investigating whether Flynn received money from the Russian government during a trip he took to Moscow in 2015. Such a payment would be in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits former military officers from receiving money from a foreign government without consent from Congress. Interestingly, there is no record that the retired three-star Army general filed the required paperwork for the trip.

Now, less than a month on the job, America’s #1 national security official has issued this statement of resignation:

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February 13, 2017

In the course of my duties as the Incoming National Security Advisor, I held numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts, ministers, and ambassadors. These calls were to facilitate a smooth transition and begin to build the necessary relationships between the President, his advisors and foreign leaders. Such calls are standard practice in any transition of this magnitude.

Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the president and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology.

Throughout my over thirty-three years of honorable military service, and my tenure as the National Security Advisor, I have always performed my duties with the utmost of integrity and honesty to those I have served, to include the President of the United States.

I am tendering my resignation, honored to have served our nation and the American people in such a distinguished way.

I am also extremely honored to have served President Trump, who in just three weeks, has reprinted American foreign policy in fundamental ways to restore America’s leadership position in the world.

As I step away once again from serving my nation in this current capacity, I wish to thank President Trump for his personal loyalty, the friendship of those who I worked with throughout the hard-fought campaign, the challenging period of transition, and during the early days of his presidency.

I know with the strong leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and the superb team they are assembling, this team will go down in history as one of the greatest presidencies in U.S history, and I firmly believe the american people will be well served as they all work together to help Make America Great Again.

Michael T. Flynn, LTG (Ret)
Assistant to the President/ National Security Advisor

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Top News Today
Since Flynn’s late resignation, all hell has broken loose in Washington.

Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement assuring that the Flynn resignation would not close the question of his contact with Russian officials.

“General Flynn’s decision to step down as national security adviser was all but ordained the day he misled the country about his secret talks with the Russian ambassador,” Schiff said, noting that the matter is still under investigation by the House committee.

Additionally, Democratic Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland have called for an immediate briefing by the Justice Department and the FBI over the “alarming new disclosures” that Flynn was a blackmail risk.

“We need to know who else within the White House is a current and ongoing risk to our national security,” they said in a statement.

How is a colossal oversight of this magnitude possible?  How are people at the highest levels of government operating in collusion with a foreign government? How soon before more information regarding Russia’s involvement with the US presidential election and questionable contact with Donald Trump and his appointees causes the current administration to come crashing down?

Continuing claims of Russian involvement in the US government have awakened some unlikely people with some unsurprising opinions.

“These are truly baffling and horrifying times, as we have an incompetent president who is essentially owned by a foreign power,” said singer and political activist Moby.

Moby, who turned down an invitation to perform for the inauguration, shared a post with his Facebook followers on Monday intending to confirm a number of theories regarding Donald Trump.  His post was based on conversations the activist had with various friends inside Washington government and theorized that the scandalous Russian dossier on Donald Trump is “100% real” and that Trump is being blackmailed by the Russian government for more “nefarious things” than a golden shower show.

He also claimed the Trump administration has always been and continues to be “in collusion with the Russian government” and that there is a brewing movement among conservatives to “get rid of Trump.”

“He’s a drain on their fundraising and their approval ratings,” so the GOP, the Koch brothers, and other “right wing groups” are working on figuring out how to oust Trump, Moby said.

He added that US intelligence agencies and those around the world are “horrified by the incompetence” of the current administration and are working to bring forward information that will lead to high-level firings and impeachment.

Could someone as unexpected as Moby be onto something? Was the Michael Flynn resignation 3 weeks into the Trump presidency only the first of much more controversy to come?

Stay tuned…

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OK WASSUP! discusses Top News Today:
Is the Michael Flynn resignation a
sign of more to come?