Trump pardons Flynn (1 Viewer)

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    TaylorB

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    By Taylor Bassett - Staff Writer |1588967955253.png @bassett_taylor | MadAboutPolitics.com

    As expected, Trump has officially pardoned his transition team national security advisor Michael Flynn:


    Now is a good time to re-up my article from earlier this year outlining some of the reasons Flynn‘s legal problems were also problems for Trump, and why Trump was trying to use the DOJ via Bill Barr to exonerate him (I tried to turn the article itself into a thread, but my tech skills are lacking):


    To summarize how we got here, Flynn pled guilty to the felony charge of making false statements to federal investigators who were looking into his Russia ties during the 2016 campaign, as well as during Obama-Trump transition. It was expected that Flynn would receive leniency in exchange for cooperation with the feds in the investigation. Because of the heartburn this cooperation caused for Trump, Trump began sending clear signals to Flynn that he would be rewarded for not cooperating. In response, Flynn suddenly shifted his legal strategy, firing his lawyers and hiring a right wing conspiracy theorist, Sidney Powell, to represent him. Powell immediately began claiming that Flynn‘s prosecution was unfair and politically motivated, greasing the skids for the Trump-controlled DOJ to let him off the hook.

    Plan A for Trump/Barr was to have the DOJ dismiss the case against Flynn. The DOJ filed an unprecedented motion to dismiss its case against Flynn, but because Flynn had already pled guilty, there was an ensuing legal battle over whether decisions on Flynn’s case was still in the hands of the executive (DOJ), or the judiciary (the federal judge and appeals courts presiding over Flynn’s case). There were also questions over whether there was improper political influence in the DOJ that led to the unique reversal of its decision to prosecute Flynn. Without getting further into the weeds of the status of that legal battle, the DOJ’s motion to dismiss was, as of yesterday’s pardon of Flynn, still pending, in front of a judge who seemed inclined to deny it and move forward with sentencing Flynn.

    Plan B for Trump/Barr was to have the legal battle over Flynn’s case become politically divisive enough to provide cover for a Trump pardon, which was inevitable if Plan A failed. That’s where we are now. Trump certainly anticipated and hoped he’d still be president by this point, but since he knows he won’t be, his time to get Flynn off the hook is dwindling. The bright side here is that it’s clear Trump knows he’ll be evicted soon despite his host of pending nonsensical legal challenges to election results.

    There are many remaining questions about the implications of a Flynn pardon that I won’t get into in this post — including whether Trump is able to effectively avoid legal jeopardy via this pardon of Flynn. I continue to believe Flynn is as close to a traitor as anyone in the Trump-Russia saga, and Trump’s behavior toward him has always been predictable in light of that fact.
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    As expected, Trump has officially pardoned his transition team national security advisor Michael Flynn:


    Now is a good time to re-up my article from earlier this year outlining some of the reasons Flynn‘s legal problems were also problems for Trump, and why Trump was trying to use the DOJ via Bill Barr to exonerate him (I tried to turn the article itself into a thread, but my tech skills are lacking):


    To summarize how we got here, Flynn pled guilty to the felony charge of making false statements to federal investigators who were looking into his Russia ties during the 2016 campaign, as well as during Obama-Trump transition. It was expected that Flynn would receive leniency in exchange for cooperation with the feds in the investigation. Because of the heartburn this cooperation caused for Trump, Trump began sending clear signals to Flynn that he would be rewarded for not cooperating. In response, Flynn suddenly shifted his legal strategy, firing his lawyers and hiring a right wing conspiracy theorist, Sidney Powell, to represent him. Powell immediately began claiming that Flynn‘s prosecution was unfair and politically motivated, greasing the skids for the Trump-controlled DOJ to let him off the hook.

    Plan A for Trump/Barr was to have the DOJ dismiss the case against Flynn. The DOJ filed an unprecedented motion to dismiss its case against Flynn, but because Flynn had already pled guilty, there was an ensuing legal battle over whether decisions on Flynn’s case was still in the hands of the executive (DOJ), or the judiciary (the federal judge and appeals courts presiding over Flynn’s case). There were also questions over whether there was improper political influence in the DOJ that led to the unique reversal of its decision to prosecute Flynn. Without getting further into the weeds of the status of that legal battle, the DOJ’s motion to dismiss was, as of yesterday’s pardon of Flynn, still pending, in front of a judge who seemed inclined to deny it and move forward with sentencing Flynn.

    Plan B for Trump/Barr was to have the legal battle over Flynn’s case become politically divisive enough to provide cover for a Trump pardon, which was inevitable if Plan A failed. That’s where we are now. Trump certainly anticipated and hoped he’d still be president by this point, but since he knows he won’t be, his time to get Flynn off the hook is dwindling. The bright side here is that it’s clear Trump knows he’ll be evicted soon despite his host of pending nonsensical legal challenges to election results.

    There are many remaining questions about the implications of a Flynn pardon that I won’t get into in this post — including whether Trump is able to effectively avoid legal jeopardy via this pardon of Flynn. I continue to believe Flynn is as close to a traitor as anyone in the Trump-Russia saga, and Trump’s behavior toward him has always been predictable in light of that fact.

    He hired Sidney Powell to represent him? I completely missed that. I've changed my mind. He can fry for all I care. I mean...Sidney Powell? Lmao.
     
    He hired Sidney Powell to represent him? I completely missed that. I've changed my mind. He can fry for all I care. I mean...Sidney Powell? Lmao.

    She’s bat shirt these days but she’s quite an accomplished lawyer. I’m intrigued by her past because she is appears borderline mentally ill these days.

    She was a criminal Asst. US Attorney for 10 years in high-profile prosecution districts. Then her federal appellate firm in Dallas, with her as lead counsel, did hundreds of appellate cases. She was president of the Fifth Circuit bar association (voted by her peers).

    Now she gets fired from a team that includes Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Elllis. She files pleadings that misspell the court’s name multiple times and is later publicly disavowed by a named plaintiff. She’s a shirt show.
     
    She’s bat shirt these days but she’s quite an accomplished lawyer. I’m intrigued by her past because she is appears borderline mentally ill these days.

    She was a criminal Asst. US Attorney for 10 years in high-profile prosecution districts. Then her federal appellate firm in Dallas, with her as lead counsel, did hundreds of appellate cases. She was president of the Fifth Circuit bar association (voted by her peers).

    Now she gets fired from a team that includes Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Elllis. She files pleadings that misspell the court’s name multiple times and is later publicly disavowed by a named plaintiff. She’s a shirt show.

    I guess she must have snapped at some point because she just so off the rails now. If she wasn't like that when Flynn hired her, then that makes more sense. I'm guessing he's none too happy about how that's turned out. Anyway, he's got his pardon, but I suspect that isn't the end of the story for him. I think if I were him, I'd get scarce quick.
     
    No she was like that when Flynn hired her, I think that was the draw for Flynn to hire her. At some point Flynn went Q. She has bought into Q or at least is Q adjacent. Cults capture all sorts of people. They aren’t all stupid. They just end up acting that way.
     
    No she was like that when Flynn hired her, I think that was the draw for Flynn to hire her. At some point Flynn went Q. She has bought into Q or at least is Q adjacent. Cults capture all sorts of people. They aren’t all stupid. They just end up acting that way.

    Source?
     
    I don’t have time to go back and source this at the moment, but if my memory is correct, I think MT is right to say that Flynn knew exactly what he was getting when he hired her. Her strategy of building Flynn’s PR to assist with a pardon by riling up right wingers with deep state conspiracy theories has been evident from the moment she enrolled. And as someone who detests Flynn and Sidney Powell as much as any human on the planet, I still have to concede that her strategy has been effective in accomplishing most of what it set out to accomplish — greasing the skids for a pardon. She didn’t get the dismissal she’d hoped for, but I don’t think she necessarily expected to.

    I cant stress enough how terrible I think they both are as human beings, but I have to think they’re pretty well aware of what they’re doing. I mean, in 2016 Flynn was dabbling in psy-ops of the sort that led to Q and other right wing (dis)information bubbles. He very well understands how disinformation works. I think he’s using Sidney Powell to achieve a similarly distorted reality with a certain group of people, and that she understands how to accomplish that. I’m not saying she’s necessarily a great lawyer, but I do think she’s done her job in this case.
     
    Geez, Dave, I didn’t say anything that isn’t common knowledge.

    “In a video posted online over the weekend, President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is seen using phrases and slogans that are hallmarks of the baseless QAnon conspiracy movement. He also tagged his post with a QAnon hashtag.
    Followers of QAnon believe there is a "deep state" within the US government that is controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. According to the conspiracy, the cabal is largely run by Democratic politicians and liberal celebrities -- and Trump is trying to take them down.
    Flynn posted the 53-second clip to Twitter on Saturday, which was the July Fourth holiday. In the video, Flynn leads a small group in reciting a generic oath of office, the same oath taken by members of Congress. After finishing the oath, Flynn says, "Where we go one, we go all!" His post included the hashtag #TakeTheOath, which he recently added to his Twitter bio as well.”

    The above is from CNN, but if you type in Flynn QAnon about 8 sources will pop up.

    “While representing Mr. Flynn, Ms. Powell also used her media appearances to amplify social media posts promoting QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory whose proponents believe Mr. Trump is battling a cabal of satanic pedophiles. But this approach did not hurt her in the eyes of the president’s defenders, including Attorney General William P. Barr. After her attempts to get the Flynn case dismissed failed, Mr. Barr agreed to appoint a U.S. attorney to review the case, a step that ultimately led him to direct the Justice Department to drop the charges against her client. The case is still in limbo.”

    The above is from NYT, but again there are many sources.
     
    And on it goes for the most corrupt administration in US history. For years down the road, the trump band of clowns will lead the league in indictments and jail time, including Trump himself
     
    Geez, Dave, I didn’t say anything that isn’t common knowledge.

    “In a video posted online over the weekend, President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is seen using phrases and slogans that are hallmarks of the baseless QAnon conspiracy movement. He also tagged his post with a QAnon hashtag.
    Followers of QAnon believe there is a "deep state" within the US government that is controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. According to the conspiracy, the cabal is largely run by Democratic politicians and liberal celebrities -- and Trump is trying to take them down.
    Flynn posted the 53-second clip to Twitter on Saturday, which was the July Fourth holiday. In the video, Flynn leads a small group in reciting a generic oath of office, the same oath taken by members of Congress. After finishing the oath, Flynn says, "Where we go one, we go all!" His post included the hashtag #TakeTheOath, which he recently added to his Twitter bio as well.”

    The above is from CNN, but if you type in Flynn QAnon about 8 sources will pop up.

    “While representing Mr. Flynn, Ms. Powell also used her media appearances to amplify social media posts promoting QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory whose proponents believe Mr. Trump is battling a cabal of satanic pedophiles. But this approach did not hurt her in the eyes of the president’s defenders, including Attorney General William P. Barr. After her attempts to get the Flynn case dismissed failed, Mr. Barr agreed to appoint a U.S. attorney to review the case, a step that ultimately led him to direct the Justice Department to drop the charges against her client. The case is still in limbo.”

    The above is from NYT, but again there are many sources.
    I hadnt even heard of these common ties, so I'm not sure it is common knowledge.
     

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