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 | 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) |
| 2017.02.15 | 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) |
| 2017.03.25 | Sources claim Flynn has turned on Trump and become a witness for the FBI. rawstory.com (See also 2016 Campaign) |
| 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) |
| 2017.06.29 | The Wall Street Journal reports that Russian hackers discussed during the 2016 presidential campaign if they could obtain emails deleted by Hillary Clinton and get them to Michael Flynn, the retired general who was then a member of the Trump campaign. buzzfeed.com (See also 2016 Campaign, Corruption, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.07.13 | In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the Justice Department released Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s SF-86 security-clearance that shows he denied having any contact with foreign governments or their representatives. theatlantic.com (See also Jeff Sessions, Administration Errors, Russia) He did. |
| 2017.08.04 | Investigators working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently asked the White House for documents related to the former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, and have questioned witnesses about whether he was secretly paid by the Turkish government during the final months of the presidential campaign. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Conflicts of Interest, 2016 Campaign) |
| 2017.09.13 | Donald Trump's former national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, has refused a new request to appear as a witness before the Senate intelligence committee, asserting his Fifth Amendment rights. cnn.com (See also Legal Issues, 2016 Election, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.11.10 | Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating an alleged plan involving former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric living in the U.S. and deliver him to Turkey in return for millions of dollars. wsj.com (See also Unprecedented Actions, Corruption) |
| 2017.11.23 | Lawyers for Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, notified the president’s legal team that they could no longer discuss the special counsel’s investigation, an indication that Mr. Flynn is cooperating with prosecutors or negotiating a deal. nytimes.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Corruption, Legal Issues) |
| 2017.12.01 | Documents released as part of Mr. Flynn’s plea agreement show that his pre-inauguration discussions with Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, about foreign policy were part of a coordinated effort by aides running Mr. Trump’s transition into the White House, as Mr. Flynn was directed by a “very senior member” of Mr. Trump’s presidential transition team. nytimes.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Russian Meddling in Election, Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus) |
| 2017.12.01 | Here are the lies that Michael Flynn told FBI agents. axios.com (See also Russia, Trump Relationship with Russia, Criminality) |
| 2017.12.01 | Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, called Michael Flynn in December 2016 and told him to call members of the UN Security Council in an effort to stop a vote on a resolution critical of Israeli settlement policy. buzzfeed.com (See also Jared Kushner, Trump Relationship with Russia, Legal Issues, Israel) |
| 2017.12.01 | Michael Flynn is now the fourth Trump staffer to be charged in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe. axios.com (See also Legal Issues, Trump Relationship with Russia, Criminality) |
| 2017.12.01 | Michael Flynn will reportedly testify that Donald Trump instructed him to make contact with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. thedailybeast.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, 2016 Campaign, Russian Meddling in Election, Criminality) |
| 2017.12.01 | Retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn has promised “full cooperation” in the special counsel’s Russia investigation and, according to a confidant, is prepared to testify that Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians, initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria. abcnews.go.com (See also Russia, Trump Relationship with Russia, Legal Issues, 2016 Campaign, Criminality) |
| 2017.12.02 | A transition advisor to Donald Trump wrote in an email weeks before his inauguration that sanctions would make it difficult to ease relations with Russia, “which has just thrown the U.S.A. election to him.” thedailybeast.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, Sean Spicer) |
| 2017.12.02 | Legal experts pointed out Donald Trump may have publicly admitted through a tweet that he knew Michael Flynn had lied to the FBI when the president approached then-FBI Director James Comey and asked him to drop the investigation, which could then indicate an attempt to obstruct justice had taken place. politico.com (See also Legal Issues, Russian Meddling in Election, Corruption) |
| 2017.12.02 | Michael Flynn’s admission that senior transition officials gave him orders last December casts doubt on the Trump administration’s effort to portray Flynn’s pre-inauguration diplomacy as a rogue operation, as Mike Pence, former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, and former press secretary Sean Spicer all strongly denied early this year that Flynn discussed sanctions last December with Russia’s ambassador to the US. buzzfeed.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Trump Relationship with Russia, Mike Pence, Sean Spicer, Reince Priebus) |
| 2017.12.02 | While Donald Trump has called claims of unusual contacts with Russia a “hoax,” emails show top administration aides closely tracked Michael T. Flynn’s calls to the Russian ambassador. nytimes.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, False Statements, Legal Issues) |
| 2017.12.03 | As the F.B.I.’s Russia investigation draws closer to him, President Trump on Sunday unleashed an extraordinary assault on the nation’s premier law enforcement agency, calling it a biased institution whose reputation for fairness was “in tatters.” nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Unprecedented Actions, False Statements, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.12.04 | As the White House contends with questions about who knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn lying to the FBI, people close to Vice President Mike Pence are trying to make clear that President Donald Trump’s No. 2 knew nothing at all. politico.com (See also Mike Pence, Legal Issues, Russian Meddling in Election, Criminality) |
| 2017.12.04 | K.T. McFarland, a former aide to President Trump, told a senator that she did not talk with Michael T. Flynn about his contacts with a Russian official, but recently surfaced emails suggest she knew of a key phone call. nytimes.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Trump Relationship with Russia, False Statements) |
| 2017.12.05 | Democrats have placed a hold on the nomination of KT McFarland to be ambassador to Singapore until she answers their questions about her knowledge of communications between former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. cnn.com (See also False Statements, Trump Relationship with Russia, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.12.06 | Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, told a former business associate that economic sanctions against Russia would be “ripped up” as one of the Trump administration’s first acts. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Trump Relationship with Russia, Russia) Flynn believed that ending the sanctions could allow a business project he had once participated in to move forward. |
| 2017.12.15 | Before speaking at the FBI National Academy on Friday, Trump said it's "a shame what's happened" to the FBI, called the Russia probe a "Democrat hoax," opened the door to pardoning Michael Flynn, and claimed there was "no collusion." npr.org (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Trump Relationship with Russia) |
| 2017.12.20 | The White House turned over records this fall to special counsel Robert Mueller revealing that in the very first days of the Trump presidency, Don McGahn researched federal law dealing both with lying to federal investigators and with violations of the Logan Act, a centuries-old federal law that prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. foreignpolicy.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Legal Activity, False Statements) |
| 2018.03.28 | A lawyer for Donald Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump pardoning two of his former top advisers, Michael T. Flynn and Paul Manafort, with their lawyers last year. nytimes.com (See also Legal Issues, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2018.04.08 | National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton plans to leave the White House — a move that will leave Donald Trump without one of the earliest and sharpest defenders of his “America First" foreign policy. politico.com (See also Resignations and Dismissals, H.R. McMaster) |
| 2018.09.22 | K.T. McFarland, a former top White House official has revised her statement to investigators about a key event in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, after her initial claim was contradicted by the guilty plea of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. washingtonpost.com (See also Reversals, Trump Relationship with Russia, Russia) |
| 2018.12.05 | Michael T. Flynn, Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, helped substantially with the special counsel’s investigation and should receive little to no prison time for lying to federal investigators, according to prosecutors, as Mr. Flynn was a key cooperator who helped the Justice Department with several investigations sitting for 19 interviews with Robert Mueller’s office and other prosecutors and handed over documents and communications. nytimes.com (See also Legal Activity, Trump Relationship with Russia, 2016 Campaign, 2016 Election) Mr. Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential transition. |
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.