A declassified document confirms that it was noted FBI-paid spy Stefan Halper who told of a supposed inappropriate encounter between retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and Russia-born scholar Svetlana Lokhova at the University of Cambridge in 2014.
Mr. Halper’s gossipy tale turned out not to be true. But the Flynn-Lokhova canard made its way in 2017 into stories in a number of major newspapers, feeding the Donald Trump-Russia election collusion narrative. A story that Mr. Trump’s short-tenured national security adviser was somehow involved with a Russia-born woman made tantalizing headlines — albeit false ones.
The Justice Department previously had released a January 2017 FBI document that closed the Flynn investigation as it related to Russia. The electronic communication told of Mr. Halper’s supposed dirt and the fact that none of it turned out to be true. The document did not identify him by name, only referring to a confidential human source (CHS).
A newly declassified FBI document, reported on Thursday by JustTheNews.com, reveals the name of Ms. Lokhova, which was redacted from the January communication.
Her name makes it clear the FBI was describing a 2014 dinner at Cambridge, where Ms. Lokhova studied Russian history and Mr. Flynn, then-director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, spoke.
It is also clear the CHS is Mr. Halper, at the time a Cambridge professor, because the FBI document tells of other known missions for the spy, such as reaching out to Trump campaign official Sam Clovis. The document also mentions agent Stephen M. Somma, Mr. Halper’s handler.
Here is how the FBI related Mr. Halper’s account: “The CHS told the team that after CR [Crossfire Razor, Mr. Flynn’s code name] spoke and socialized with … at dinner and over drinks … got CR a cab to take CR to the train station to bring him/her to London. The CHS stated that a woman, Svetlana Lokhova, surprised everyone and got into the CR’s cab and joined CR on the train ride to London. The CHS recalled that Lokhova ‘latched’ on to CR when he was at … The CHS believes that Lokhova’s father may be a Russian oligarch living in London. The CHS could not provide further information on CR and Lokhova’s trip.”
Ms. Lokhova and Mr. Flynn’s attorney, Sidney Powell, have told The Washington Times the Halper story is complete fiction: First, Mr. Halper did not attend the dinner, so he could not have been an eyewitness. Ms. Lokhova had only a brief conversation with Mr. Flynn. And they left the dinner separately, he with a U.S. Embassy minder.
The FBI’s January closing memo said it found nothing derogatory about either Mr. Flynn or Ms. Lokhova, meaning there was no evidence of inappropriate Russian contacts.
After the new document appeared, Ms. Lokhova tweeted: “Here it is. In black and white. After four years of cover up, FBI and CIA’s dirty operative’s Halper lies about me seducing US National Security Advisor have finally been released to the public.”
Ms. Lokhova filed a lawsuit against news media sites and Mr. Halper. A U.S. District judge in Virginia dismissed the case, which is being appealed.
Special counsel Robert Mueller reported in March 2019 that his investigation did not establish there was a Trump campaign-Kremlin conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 election.
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
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