The dozen belated disclosures that turned the tide in Michael Flynn’s case
Long-withheld evidence of innocence revealed the FBI never thought it had a case against former Trump national security adviser.
1. Case Closure Memo. FBI agent who had investigated the retired general for five months wrote a memo to close the investigation on Jan. 4, 2017.
2. Agent’s ‘Get Trump’ Confession William Barnett, admitted there was never evidence of wrongdoing by the retired general or Russian collusion by Trump, but the probe was kept open by Special Counsel Robert Mueller because his team was obsessed with punishing the president.
3. Not a Russian agent. A Justice Department memo exonerated Flynn of Russia collusion on Jan. 30, 2017, nearly a year before he pled guilty.
4. ‘Playing Games.’ Priestap wrote in his handwritten notes that suddenly turned up as evidence in spring 2020. “Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"
5. Infamous Obama White House meeting. The president gave an instruction for the FBI to put its best people on continuing the probe while Biden suggested considering using the Logan Act to prosecute Flynn, the memos suggest.
6. No deception The FBI agents who interviewed Flynn, including the now-fired Peter Strzok, did not believe Flynn intended to lie or be deceptive in his interview.
7. Logan Act threat wasn't real. DOJ officials immediately did not believe Flynn could realistically be prosecuted under the Logan Act for his conversations with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
8. DOJ heartburn. “The interview was problematic from Yates’ perspective because, as a matter of protocol and courtesy, the White House Counsel’s Office should have been notified beforehand," a DOJ memo stated
9. Disguising a required warning. "It would be an easy way to just casually slip that in," FBI lawyer Lisa Page texted during the discussions
10. FBI Deception. Comey said the tactic was "something I probably wouldn't have done or maybe gotten away with in a more organized administration.
11. Interview Reports Edited. Pientka wrote the original interview report, known as a 302, then Strzok heavily edited it, so much so that he worried he was “trying not to completely re-write” the memo.
12. Flynn's visit with Putin was approved, not nefarious. His December 2015 visit to Moscow was cleared by his former employer, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and he received a defensive briefing before he went to Russia and debriefed with U.S. intelligence after he returned.
https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/dozen-belated-disclosures-turned-tide-michael-flynns