President Trump said Thursday he would welcome Michael Flynn back into the administration after bombshell court filings have raised questions about the criminal case against his former national security adviser.
Separately, Vice President Mike Pence said he was “more inclined” to believe Flynn unintentionally misled him about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador, which resulted in criminal charges.
Flynn was removed as White House national security adviser in February 2017, shortly after press reports surfaced revealing that he discussed lifting sanctions imposed on Russia with the ambassador. He had told Pence and other top White House officials the sanctions were not discussed.
“I know what General Flynn told me and I’m more inclined to believe it was unintentional than ever before,” Mr. Pence told reporters.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump said he would consider bringing Flynn back into the White House.
“I would certainly consider it,” he said of Flynn’s return. “Certainly, he’d be capable of coming back.”
Mr. Trump sidestepped the issue of a pardon, saying it might not be necessary because Flynn could be exonerated of lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian diplomat.
“It looks to me like Michael Flynn would be exonerated,” he said. “I don’t know if anybody would have to use that [pardon] power. Hopefully, we won’t have to get there.”
The comments came after a series of explosive court filings this week have prompted allegations of FBI misconduct in the case.
On Thursday newly unsealed documents in Flynn’s case revealed that the FBI had closed the investigation after failing to uncover evidence of wrongdoing. But now-disgraced anti-Trump FBI official Peter Strzok pushed to keep it open.
Just a day earlier, another series of documents showed the FBI discussing whether the goal of questioning Flynn was “to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?”
Mr. Pence said he was “deeply troubled” by the revelations
“I think Gen. Michael Flynn is a patriotic American who served with great distinction in the armed forces… I’m deeply troubled by the revelations of what appears to have been investigative abuse by officials in the Justice Department and we are going to continue to look into that very carefully,” he said.
The vice president evaded questions about a possible pardon, saying the decision was up to Mr. Trump.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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