US: Flynn Pleads Guilty To Lying To FBI in Mueller Probe
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US President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia, becoming the first Trump White House official to face criminal charges and admit guilt so far in the wide-ranging election investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Flynn also agreed to cooperate with Mueller's probe, which focuses on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination between Russia and Trump's team in the campaign that sent the Republican businessman to the White House.
Flynn spent just 25 days in the White House, but his actions - and the Russia investigations broadly - have shadowed Trump throughout the year, angering him and repeatedly distracting from his agenda.
Meanwhile, court papers make clear that Flynn knows the identities of at least two members of Trump's transition team who were intimately aware of his outreach to Russian government officials in the weeks before the inauguration.
Mueller's prosecutors did not reveal the names of the officials, but indicated they were senior and within Trump's inner circle.
Those officials discussed the details of what Flynn was supposed to communicate to the Russians about US sanctions imposed by Obama administration.
One of the officials, described as a "very senior member" of the presidential transition, also directed Flynn to contact foreign government officials, including Russia's, about a UN Security Council resolution regarding illegal ‘Israeli' settlements.
Relatively, NBC News later cited two unidentified sources placing one of the suspected transition officials as Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Flynn was an early and vocal Trump supporter on the campaign trail and was present for consequential moments in the campaign, the following transition period and the early days of Trump's presidency, making him a valuable potential tool for prosecutors and agents.
His business dealings and foreign interactions have made him a central focus of Mueller's investigation.
Trump's former national security adviser admitted to lying about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the transition period before Trump's inauguration.
In a statement, Flynn, a 58-year-old retired Army lieutenant general, said he accepted responsibility for his actions and added: "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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