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Flynn Investigation Might Lead To Trump’s Impeachment

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 03:11 PST, Feb 15, 2017

Could Michael Flynn’s end be the beginning of President Trump’s impeachment?

Many observers believe that the last has not been heard of Michael Flynn’s resignation, adding that a subsequent investigation could spell the downfall of the Trump administration. The Washington Post was the first to break the story that the ex-Army Lieutenant General had talked about U.S. sanctions against Russia with the country’s ambassador. He had done this before Mr. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

According to the Huffington Post, some government officials were aware of the discussions that Flynn had with the Russian ambassador, but everything was kept under wraps until the information was leaked to the press. The 58-year-old former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency had left himself in a compromising position and privy to blackmail from Moscow.

Sally Yates, the acting attorney general at the time had informed Donald McGahn, President Trump’s White House Counsel about the development. The 56-year-old lawyer had cautioned that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail from the Russians because they were fully aware of what he had done. According to CNN, President Trump was also “officially” aware of what Flynn had done weeks before, the Vice President found out 11 days after he did. During that time, Pence had defended the former national security adviser saying that he had no dealings with the Kremlin.

The million dollar question is what does this have to do with the President since he has not being implicated in any shape or form. After divisive presidential elections, Democrats only need to catch a whiff of anything contrary, and they bay for blood. Surprisingly, it seems that the President keeps giving them something to use. Mr. Trump has shown that he is the proverbial cat with nine lives, but this time the stakes might be definitely higher.

The national narrative is now “what did the president know, when did he find out about it and why did he not do anything about it?” People are now wondering if there is an element of truth to the rumors that their President was in bed with a perennial adversary. President Trump has not addressed the Flynn situation and the Kremlin dark cloud that refuses to go away. Instead, he has chosen to raise concerns over the “illegal leaks” coming out of Washington and the disgruntled pro-Hillary elements who won’t just let sleeping dogs lie.

However, pundits believe the billionaire businessman is trying to deflect attention. They believe there was no way that the former military general could have been working on his own and argue that he took one for the team. According to a source that spoke to Politico, the three-star general is no grand strategist and is not capable of running an intricate relationship with Mother Russia. The source described Flynn as ill-suited for the role of national security adviser, adding that the former military man bagged the position because of his unflinching loyalty to the President.

The source argued that the 58-year-old spent most of his career as an Army intelligence officer in Afghanistan and the Middle East and had no diplomacy background. The source insisted that Flynn was a man on a mission especially when he purportedly called the Russian Ambassador five times in one day.

Moreover, Flynn would have known that his phone had been tapped, but had gone ahead with the incriminating conversations simply because he had high governmental backing. There is also the matter that Flynn never displayed any affection for the Russian strongman, Vladimir Putin, before. In 2015, the three-star-general lumped Russia with China, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela, saying that they shared a hatred for the West, “particularly the United States and Israel.”

John McCain is no friend of Mr. Trump and is a Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. He is well-respected in political circles and remains determined towards finding out if the Russians interfered with the 2016 elections. The left is pushing for an investigation into the alleged connections of the Trump administration with Moscow, and more Republicans are beginning to warm up to the idea.

If investigations yield anything incriminating, Senate hearings on the controversy will reel in Michael Flynn as a prime witness to give his testimony under oath. His conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak took place before Trump’s inauguration, so he is exempted from executive privilege. Besides, he has resigned as a government official and has nothing but the 5th Amendment to shield him.

If Flynn fingers the President of the United States as being in the loop about his conversation with the ambassador or that he instructed him to go ahead, Trump is toast. This would make him complicit in inappropriate communication before assuming office. It would also mean that he had the information and kept quiet about it for weeks while Vice President Pence, his chief of staff, communications director, and press secretary made contrary statements that he knew were not the truth.

Flynn is not the only game-changer in the equation. The White House counsel, Donald McGhan, could still play his part. It is difficult to believe that he did not brief the President after he was told by Acting Attorney General Yates about Russia and Flynn. McGhan might be able to claim attorney-client privilege in revealing what exactly he told President Trump, but it would not protect him from talking about the time, place, and subject matter of his discussion.

[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP Images]

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