/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/634600148/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=4184&cropY1=0&cropY2=2353&w=1920&resize=1920,0&ssl=1 "Report: Pence Says He’d ‘Certainly Consider’ Bringing Michael Flynn Back Into The Trump Administration")
TOPLINE
A few days after the Justice Department dropped its case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, Vice President Mike Pence said he’d be “happy” for him to return to government and would “certainly consider” bringing him back into the administration.
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 10: Vice President Mike Pence (L) shakes hands with National Security … [+]
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KEY FACTS
Pence’s comments highlight the fact that the White House has no intention of letting go of the highly contentious Flynn saga and plans to keep the story in the news, even as critics accuse the Justice Department of politicizing the case.
“I think Gen. Michael Flynn is an American patriot,” Pence said during an exclusive interview with Axios on Friday that will air in full on “Axios on HBO” on Monday at 11 p.m EDT., “and for my part, I’d be happy to see Michael Flynn again.”
Flynn, who pleaded guilty in Robert Mueller’s investigation in December 2018 to lying to the FBI about conversations he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, has seen Republicans and Trump supporters rally to his support in recent weeks after his legal team alleged FBI investigators had mishandled his interview.
President Trump and Republicans have used Flynn’s case to point to examples of corruption and anti-Trump bias in the Justice Department, and Trump had suggested in March he was considering pardoning his former national security adviser.
However, critics have pointed out that Flynn already twice pleaded guilty to lying to the investigators and Trump acknowledged in 2017 that he “had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI” in a message on Twitter; legal experts told the New York Times that the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case was without precedent.
On Sunday, amidst a torrent of tweets, Trump called the Flynn case the “biggest political crime in American history, by far” and on Thursday said the senior FBI and Justice Department officials who pursued Flynn amounted to “human scum.”
Crucial quote
“I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI,” Trump tweeted in 2017. “He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!”
Key background
Attorney General William Barr approved Flynn case’s dismissal last week, after Jeff Jensen — the outside prosecutor assigned by Barr to review Flynn’s case — recommended that the Justice Department drop it.
It is highly unusual for Barr to have assigned an outside prosecutor and for the Justice Department to seek to undo a guilty plea. Barr has been highly critical of Mueller’s investigative probe, saying last month that it began “without any basis.”
Law enforcement investigated Flynn in 2017 out of worries he may have been blackmailed by Russia for his relationship with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then misstated his connection to the ambassador to investigators, Vice President Mike Pence, and the media.
Chief critic
Former President Obama said Friday that the Justice Department’s decision to drop the charges against Flynn jeopardized the “rule of law.”
“There is no precedent that anybody can find for somebody who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free,” the former president told ex-Obama campaign workers on a call.
Tangent
Axios reports that Trump insiders say they won’t be surprised if Flynn joins Trump on the campaign trail.
Further reading
Justice Department Drops Michael Flynn Case (Forbes)
Exclusive: Pence says he’d be “happy” to see Michael Flynn back in government (Axios)
AP Exclusive: Justice Dept dropping Flynn’s criminal case (Associated Press)
Justice Dept. Drops Case Against Michael Flynn(New York Times NYT)
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