Flynn!!!

Well, I guess The Donald doesn’t read my blog! I advised him to pardon Flynn and his son asap and before Mueller got to him...too late!

We need to talk collusion.

The Right Wing press in the USA is screaming three things.

First, this conviction is not proof of collusion. Proof of this would require proof of actual cooperation between Russia and the Trump campaign to subvert the last presidential election. They are correct in their assertion.

Second, they are asserting that the thing that Flynn has been charged with, namely lying to the cops, refers to events that happened after the election, so again, no proof of collusion. They are also right - Flynn was not cooperating with Russians to steal the US election during the election.

Finally, they are saying that the National Security Advisor is supposed to talk to people as a new administration is being formed - that this was normal.

Well, no.

Dealing with the last point first.

The US intelligence services have confirmed that Russia tried to subvert the last presidential election in the USA. Even Trump accepts this now. Because of this, any conversations between any officials and Russia in or around the last election are therefore immediately suspect. And Flynn lied to the FBI about those same chats to the point that he is now a convicted felon (as did Papodopoulos). Sorry, this was not business as usual.

Regarding the other two points above - there is no proof of actual collusion, and Flynn could not have been the one cooperating with Russia during the election - why is his arrest and conviction devastating for Trump?

Flynn will now testify that he discussed the issue of sanctions with the Ambassador from Russia after the election, at the request of a Trump transition team official, who is likely Kushner.

This matters because the collusion would have presumably been in the form of a deal - Russia helps with the election, and the Trump administration gives something in return, in this case, a relaxation of the sanctions on Russia that were imposed as a result of its annexation of Crimea.

If this was the deal, then the fact that Flynn was charged stemming from things that happened after the election, or that he could not have been part of any collusion during the election - the things now claimed by the Right Wing press to excuse this - are completely irrelevant.

Flynn’s role was not the subverting of the election, but the delivery of the quid pro quo after the election, namely the relaxation of sanctions. His role in this was therefore absolutely crucial - he may have been the conduit for the payoff to Russia for its help in beating Clinton.

It is important to note that Flynn only got nailed on one charge – nothing about failing to register as a foreign agent, and/or making other false or misleading statements. I think Mueller and crew had him dead to rights on all of this other stuff. That he got away with only one charge, and his son was not charged at all, suggests to me that he had lots of helpful information to trade in order to make the other stuff go away. He may even testify that he was instructed by Trump himself to make the contacts to Russia regarding the sanctions. And...maybe he can even help put together an obstruction of justice charge related to the Comey firing.

What is certain is that we do not know the whole story yet, and I now suspect it is exceptionally damaging for Trump.

“NO COLLUSION!”

In an era of shameless lying in sports, the entertainment industry, and politics, this may prove to be the most significant lie of our age.