President Trump in a series of tweets Thursday reaffirmed his support for his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and blasted the news media for coverage of the criminal case.
The president’s tweetstorm, which began late Wednesday and continued into Thursday morning, came after newly unsealed documents in the Flynn case raised questions about the FBI’s goals in the investigation.
“What happened to General Michael Flynn, a war hero, should never be allowed to happen to a citizen of the United States again!” Mr. Trump tweeted Thursday morning.
Mr. Trump’s tweet comes after documents unsealed late Wednesday revealed top FBI officials discussed whether they wanted to trap Flynn into lying during a January 2017 interview with agents.
“What’s our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” reads a handwritten note from one official.
“If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act, give facts to the DOJ & have them decide. Or, if he initially lies, then we present him [redacted] & he admits it, document for DOJ & let them decide how to address it,” the note continues.
Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell insists the document supports accusations of wrongdoing by federal prosecutors and the FBI.
The new revelations boost Flynn’s effort to unravel the government’s case against him. He pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a former Russian ambassador about sanctions on the country, but in January he told a federal judge he “was innocent of this crime.”
He filed to withdraw his guilty plea after the Justice Department requested a sentence of up to six months in prison, although the department later relented admitting probation would be appropriate.
In the series of tweets, Mr. Trump attacked the media for their coverage of the Flynn case, retweeting messages from Flynn supporters, and attacking the FBI.
Mr. Trump pointed a finger squarely at then-FBI Director James Comey, who ran the bureau during the Flynn interview.
“Dirty Cop James Comey got caught,” the president tweeted.
The president also criticized CNN, accusing the news outlet of political bias in its reporting on Flynn.
“@CNN doesn’t want to speak about their persecution of General Michael Flynn & why they got the story so wrong. They, along with others, should pay a big price for what they have purposely done to this man & his family. They won’t even cover the big breaking news about this scam!”
Mr. Trump also suggested that longtime GOP operative Roger Stone, who was also criminally charged in a case stemming from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, was also treated unfairly by the FBI.
The president also revived allegations of political bias against the jury forewoman in the case.
“Does anybody really believe that Roger Stone, a man whose house was raided early in the morning by 29 gun toting FBI Agents (with Fake News @CNN closely in toe), was treated fairly,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “How about the jury forewoman with her unannounced hatred & bias. Same scammers as General Flynn!”
The tweets may signal that the president will pardon Flynn. In March, Mr. Trump announced he is “strongly considering” doing so.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.