Michael Flynn
On Feb. 14, 2017 Michael Flynn resigned his position as Trump's National Security Adviser due to possible violations of the Logan Act for discussing sanctions with the Russian Ambassador before Trump was inaugurated.
Timeline
| 2010 | A secret U.S. military investigation reveals Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn shared classified information without permission. washingtonpost.com (See also Afghanistan) |
| 2013 | Flynn orders female Defense Intelligence Agency employees to “dress sexy” and wear short skirts and makeup. nydailynews.com |
| 2015.12.10 | Flynn is paid $45,386 by RT. medium.com (See also Russia) |
| 2016.03.10 | Flynn worked for Turkish government without registering as a foreign agent or disclosing it to the Trump campaign. nytimes.com (See also Corruption) |
| 2016.07 | Flynn's firm invites members of Congress to preview encryption technology, then begins lecturing them on why they should extradite Turkish dissidents. thedailybeast.com |
| 2016.08.11 | Flynn publishes an Opt Ed. where he argues that the United States should extradite an exiled Turkish Opposition Leader. thehill.com |
| 2016.08.15 | Retired General Michael Flynn stuns former colleagues by calling Obama a liar, leading crowd in "lock her up" chant, and openly aligning with Trump. washingtonpost.com (See also 2016 Campaign) |
| 2016.09.19 | According to the Ex Director of the CIA, Flynn secretly meets with Turkish officials to discuss a plan to kidnap a political rival of Turkeys leader from his home in Pennsylvania and deliver him to the Turkish government. rawstory.com (See also Turkey) During this same time Flynn was being paid by Turkey for his undisclosed work as a foreign agent. |
| 2016.10.03 | Michael Flynn tweets a link to a fake news story implicating Hillary Clinton in a child sex trafficking ring. huffingtonpost.com (See also Belief in Conspiracy Theories) |
| 2016.10.09 | Flynn tweets for people to follow and promotes the book of a famed alt-right rape apologist who claims the goal of diversity is white genocide. mediamatters.org |
| 2016.11.17 | Trump offers ex-general and anti-Islamist Michael Flynn national security advisor post, which does not require Senate confirmation. nytimes.com (See also Conflicts of Interest, Turkey, Russia, Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslim Registry, Presidential Transition) |
| 2016.11.18 | Congressman Elijah Cummings sends Mike Pence a letter warning him about Michael Flynn's lobbying work for the Turkish government. businessinsider.com (See also Mike Pence, Presidential Transition) |
| 2016.12.15 | The Boston globe lists 13 high ranking members of Trump's cabinet who are staunch opponents or who have fought against LGBT rights. bostonglobe.com (See also Homophobia, LGBTQIA, Presidential Transition, Mike Pence, Ken Blackwell, Nikki Haley, Ben Carson, Jeff Sessions, Tom Price, Betsy DeVos) The individuals are, Mike Pence, Tony Perkins, Ken Blackwell, Kay Coles, Ken Klukowski, Ed Meese, Betsy DeVos, Tom Price, Jeff Sessions, Ben Carson, Michael Flynn, Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo. |
| 2017.01.15 | Face the Nation transcript Jan. 15, 2017: Pence denies interactions between Flynn and Russian Ambassador. cbsnews.com (See also Mike Pence, Russia, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.01.22 | U.S. eyes Michael Flynn’s links to Russia. wsj.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Russia) |
| 2017.01.26 | Led by National Security advisor Michael Flynn, Trump administration considers designating Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslims) |
| 2017.02.01 | Democrats ask Pentagon to explain 2015 payment Flynn received from Russia, suggesting it may have violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Conflicts of Interest, Russia, Department of Defense) |
| 2017.02.01 | National Security Adviser Mike Flynn says Iran is "on notice," but the White House announced no new military action or other responses to what he called its provocations. npr.org (See also First 100 Days, Iran) |
| 2017.02.02 | Trump's National security adviser Michael Flynn says the White House putting Iran ‘on notice’ following missile test and says recent actions underscored Tehran’s destabilizing behavior. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Iran) |
| 2017.02.09 | Flynn is said to have talked to Russians about sanctions before Trump took office raising the prospect that Trump’s national security adviser violated the Logan Act, a law against private citizens’ engaging in diplomacy. mobile.nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Russia, False Statements, Constitutional Issues) |
| 2017.02.09 | National security adviser Flynn discusses election-related sanctions with Russian ambassador before Trump takes office, contradicting White House assertions and potentially breaking the law. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Russia, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.02.10 | The CIA denies a security clearance for a key aide to the National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, ratcheting up tensions between Flynn and the intel community. politico.com (See also CIA, First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.10 | The vice president defended the National Security Adviser in January when questions first surfaced about Flynn's contact with Russian ambassador. His aides say Pence was told Flynn didn't discuss sanctions. politico.com (See also First 100 Days, Mike Pence, Russia) |
| 2017.02.12 | New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticizes Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn Sunday, saying he needs to clear up questions about whether he discussed sanctions with the Russians before the inauguration. cnn.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.12 | Trump remains silent about Flynn as pressure grows over his Russia contacts. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.12 | Trump reviews top White House staff after tumultuous start. politico.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.12 | Turmoil at the National Security Council as staff members struggle to make policy to fit the Trump's Twitter posts, and the council’s leader, Michael T. Flynn, is facing an inquiry. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.12 | White House declines to publicly defend embattled Flynn. pbs.org (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.13 | All oversight Dems to Chaffetz: Investigate Flynn or step aside to allow committee to vote on oversight steps democrats-oversight.house.gov (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.13 | Justice Department warned White House that Flynn could be vulnerable to Russian blackmail. washingtonpost.com (See also Department of Justice, First 100 Days, Russia) |
| 2017.02.13 | Michael Flynn resigns: Trump's national security adviser quits over Russia links theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Russia) |
| 2017.02.13 | Michael Flynn's position grows tenuous as the White House reviews whether to retain him amid a furor over his contacts with Russian officials before Trump took office. wsj.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.13 | Reporters outraged as Trump makes it through yet another press conference with a visiting foreign leader without having to field any questions about the controversy surrounding Michael Flynn. money.cnn.com (See also Attempts to Discredit Media, First 100 Days) Trump only took two questions from outlets viewed as favorable to him. |
| 2017.02.14 | GOP Senate Intelligence Committee member Roy Blunt calls for an exhaustive investigation into Trump-Russia connections. cnn.com (See also Russia, First 100 Days, Trump Relationship with Russia) |
| 2017.02.14 | Russian lawmakers rush to the defense of Trump’s ex-national security adviser and blame Michael Flynn’s resignation on anti-Russian sentiment in Washington. washingtonpost.com (See also Russia) |
| 2017.02.14 | Trump knew for more than two weeks that Flynn had lied about his contact with Russia. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.14 | White House official says Trump was told weeks ago that national security adviser did not tell truth about Russia. nytimes.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Russia, First 100 Days) A White House official said that President Trump concluded that he could not trust Mr. Flynn and asked for his resignation as national security adviser. |
| 2017.02.15 | House Oversight Chairman Chaffetz asks Department of Justice inspector general to investigate leaks about Flynn rather than communications between Flynn, the Trump team, and Russia. politico.com (See also Department of Justice, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.02.16 | Respected former SEAL, Robert Harward, turns down Trump's offer to to replace former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.16 | Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats request that Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuse himself from any investigations into communications between Trump team's and Russia, and that the White House counsel, Department of Justice and FBI preserve materials relevant to those contacts. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Russian Meddling in Election, Jeff Sessions) |
| 2017.02.17 | Trump down to three candidates to replace Flynn after Petraeus reportedly pulls himself from consideration. thehill.com (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.22 | Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) wants former national security adviser Michael Flynn to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. politico.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.03.02 | White House confirms that Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and now a senior adviser, also participated in the meeting at Trump Tower with Mr. Flynn and Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, in December. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Jared Kushner, Russia, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.03.08 | Michael Flynn files disclosure paperwork about being paid $530,000 in 2016 for lobbying on behalf of the Turkish Government. thedailybeast.com Filed disclosure paperwork this week with DoJ. |
| 2017.03.10 | Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was fired from his White House job last month, retroactively registers with the Justice Department as a foreign agent who received over $500,000 for lobbying for Turkey. bigstory.ap.org (See also First 100 Days, Conflicts of Interest) |
| 2017.03.14 | Documents reveal debunked Clinton scandal figure was on Michael Flynn's payroll. msnbc.com |
| 2017.03.16 | Documents reveal Flynn was paid $45,386 by RT. medium.com (See also Russia, First 100 Days) |
| 2017.03.16 | Documents reveal that Trump's first national security adviser was paid more than $50,000 by Russian companies. wsj.com (See also Russia, Trump Relationship with Russia, First 100 Days) President Trump’s former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, was paid tens of thousands of dollars by Russian companies shortly before he became a formal adviser to the then-candidate, according to… |
| 2017.03.25 | Sources claim Flynn has turned on Trump and become a witness for the FBI. rawstory.com (See also 2016 Campaign) |
| 2017.03.30 | Former national security adviser Mike Flynn offers to testify in the investigation of the Trump campaign's potential ties to Russia in exchange for immunity. wsj.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Trump Relationship with Russia, First 100 Days) Mike Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, has told the FBI and congressional committees investigating the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia that he is willing to b… |
| 2017.05.08 | Former Obama Administration officials say President Obama warned Trump about hiring Michael Flynn during a post-election conversation in the Oval Office. nytimes.com (See also Russia, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.05.10 | Senate intelligence committee subpoenas Michael Flynn regarding interactions with Russian officials. cnn.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Russia) |
| 2017.06.02 | Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Russia, is expanding his probe to assume control of a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. reuters.com (See also Legal Activity, Corruption) |
| 2017.06.06 | The day after Trump asked FBI director James B. Comey to end an investigation into his former national security adviser, Mr. Comey confronted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and said he did not want to be left alone again with the president, believing Mr. Sessions should protect the F.B.I. from White House influence. nytimes.com (See also Jeff Sessions, Russian Meddling in Election, Legal Activity, Corruption) |
| 2017.06.06 | The nation’s top intelligence official told associates in March that Trump asked him if he could intervene with FBI Director James Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe. washingtonpost.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Corruption, Russia, 2016 Election) |
| 2017.06.07 | Fired FBI Director James B. Comey said Trump told him at the White House “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty” during their private dinner conversation in January, according to written remarks from Comey offering a vivid preview of his testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. washingtonpost.com (See also Corruption, Feuds, Unpresidential Behavior, Legal Activity, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.06.07 | Former US director of national intelligence James Clapper says events in Washington now are more serious than the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, and that it is imperative investigators get to the bottom of the Trump administration’s links with the Putin regime. theguardian.com (See also Corruption, Trump Relationship with Russia, Russian Meddling in Election, James Mattis, John Kelly, H.R. McMaster) |
| 2017.06.07 | In his 9 one-on-one conversations with Trump, former FBI chief, James B. Comey said Trump pressured him for loyalty, sought forbearance for Michael Flynn and asked him to lift the “cloud” of a Russia investigation hanging over the administration. bloomberg.com (See also Legal Activity, Unpresidential Behavior, Russian Meddling in Election, Feuds, Corruption) |
| 2017.06.07 | James Comey’s seven-page written statement, released by the Senate Intelligence Committee recounts, in spare and simple prose, a set of facts to which Comey is prepared to testify under oath tomorrow, and is the most shocking single document compiled about the official conduct of the public duties of any President since the Watergate tapes. lawfareblog.com (See also Corruption, Russian Meddling in Election, Legal Activity) |
| 2017.06.08 | Former FBI Director James Comey accused the president and his top aides of lying, suggesting president wanted special treatment in exchange for loyalty, and that he believes he lost his job because of how he handled the Russia investigation. abcnews.go.com (See also Corruption, Legal Activity, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.06.08 | In the first hour of former FBI Director James Comey's testimony on Capitol Hill about the nature and details of his relationship with Trump, he called the president a liar twice, flashing anger at Trump's characterization that the bureau was disorganized and chaotic. cnn.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Legal Activity, Corruption) |
| 2017.06.08 | James B. Comey, said under oath in an extraordinary Senate hearing that he believed President Trump had tried to derail an investigation into his national security adviser, and accused the president of lying and defaming him and the F.B.I. nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Legal Activity, Russian Meddling in Election, Trump Relationship with Russia) |
| 2017.06.15 | Special counsel Bob Mueller is investigating the finances and business dealings of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, as part of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. washingtonpost.com (See also Jared Kushner, Russian Meddling in Election, Legal Activity) |
| 2017.06.20 | Despite senior officials across the government convinced that Michael T. Flynn had become vulnerable to Russian blackmail, every day for three weeks, the CIA director Mike Pompeo briefed Trump on the nation's most sensitive intelligence with Mr. Flynn. nytimes.com (See also Mike Pompeo, Russia, Trump Relationship with Russia, Russian Meddling in Election, Corruption) |
| 2017.06.22 | More than a month after suggesting he may have secretly recorded his meetings with FBI Director James Comey, Trump admitted that he has no such tapes. buzzfeed.com (See also Corruption, Legal Activity, Trump Relationship with Russia, Russian Meddling in Election, Unpresidential Behavior) |
Assessments
Daniel Benjamin–Politico Magazine
In his Feb. 14, 2017 article, Benjamin raised the question he did not want lose in the chaos:
Who told Flynn to call Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States? Because I’m convinced Flynn didn’t do it of his own accord. Flynn is a bit player in a much larger story regarding the president’s relationship with the Kremlin, and it’s this story the press needs to focus on.
There is little doubt that Trump elevated Flynn because of his loyalty and the optics of having a recently retired three-star general parroting his views, which few other generals of that rank would consider doing. But Flynn was no grand strategist. He would not have been capable of running a complex political realignment with Russia, and he was woefully ill-cast for the role of national security adviser.