(MENAFN- Gulf Times) President
Donald Trump's former top adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty
yesterday to lying to the FBI over his contacts with Russia, in a
dramatic escalation of the probe into possible collusion between the
Trump campaign and Moscow.
The 58-year-old Flynn — a retired
three-star Army general — is the fourth, and so far most senior, figure
indicted in the sprawling investigation into Russian interference in
last year's election.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of making false
statements to investigators, in a deal in which he pledged to
co-operate with special prosecutor Robert Mueller's wide-reaching
investigation into Trump, his family, staff and advisors.
The White
House rejected the idea that Flynn could implicate Trump for collusion
with Moscow, even as court documents said that Flynn had been told by
'senior members of the presidential transition team to make contact
with the Russians.
ABC News said in an unconfirmed report that the
former military intelligence chief will testify that Trump himself had
ordered him to reach out to the Russians — a report that sent Wall
Street briefly tumbling.
'I recognise that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, Flynn said in a statement.
'My
guilty plea and agreement to co-operate with the special counsel's
office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and
of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions.
Flynn
admitted he lied to FBI investigators about his private discussions at
the end of December 2016 with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador,
about US sanctions imposed on Moscow by the administration of then
president Barack Obama.
At the time, Flynn was a campaign and
transition advisor with no official US government role, but it was known
that he would likely become Trump's White House national security
adviser.
He was forced to resign that post in February, just weeks
after the president took office, due to public concerns over his
contacts with Russia.
In a January 24 interview with investigators,
Flynn denied having asked Kislyak to moderate Russia's response to new
sanctions and the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, announced by Obama
in retaliation for Moscow's interference in the 2016 election.
After
the December 29 announcement, the Obama administration was openly
puzzled by Moscow's decision not to retaliate, and began investigating
possible interference by Flynn and the Trump campaign.
Court
documents say Flynn was instructed by 'a senior official of the
Presidential Transition Team to discuss holding back on retaliation
with Kislyak.
Flynn, who once headed the Defense Intelligence Agency,
also admitted he lied to investigators about secretly asking Kislyak on
December 22 to defeat or delay a looming UN Security Council resolution
to condemn Israel's settlements in Palestinian territory.
The Obama
administration, in a rare step that shocked its Middle East ally,
planned to abstain on the motion rather than veto it as had been done in
the past.
In the Security Council case, Flynn was told by 'a very
senior member of the transition team to press Russia to stall or block
the vote, the court documents show.
While the two interactions do not
indicate a clear instance of collusion, they raise questions about the
Trump team's dealings with Moscow before taking office — and whether
they actively worked to undermine Obama's policies.
The White House,
which has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to Moscow, said Flynn's
false statements 'mirror the false statements to White House officials
which resulted in his resignation in February of this year.
'Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn, said White House attorney Ty Cobb.
For
Trump, the focus is on whether he has tried to stifle the
investigation, including by firing FBI chief James Comey in May, which
could draw charges of obstruction of justice, the same charges that
forced president Richard Nixon from office in 1974.
Since the first
allegations of Russian interference last year, Trump has dismissed it as
'fake news and an excuse for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's
stunning loss in the election.
In January, the country's top
intelligence chiefs said they had strong evidence showing Moscow had
interfered in the campaign, by hacking and disinformation operations,
specifically to boost Trump's chances of winning.
But Trump has
repeatedly rejected that view. 'Since the first day I took office, all
you hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia,
Russia, Russia, he tweeted last week.
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