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Michael Flynn’s resignation is the beginning of a bumpy ride for Trump regime

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DailyBiteFeb 14, 2017 | 15:11

Michael Flynn’s resignation is the beginning of a bumpy ride for Trump regime

The resignation of US President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser – the ever-controversial Michael Flynn – from his post is an indication that the fears of a major Russian involvement in Trump regime might just be true.

Allegations that Flynn’s close relationship with the Russian government has resulted in Kremlin blackmailing him in the present or in future have been flying thick and fast, with Washington Post and Associated Press already criticising him for his stellar role in spreading the anti-Clinton hysteria over the John Podesta emails and sabotaging her chances at the US presidency.

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Even the Wall Street Journal had reported that Flynn was under investigation by US counterintelligence agents for his communications with Russians, which might have compromised US national security, and definitely tilted the election in favour of Republican candidate Donald Trump.

In his resignation letter, Flynn said that owing to “the face pace of events” during the transition, he had “inadvertently briefed the vice president elect (Mike Pence) and others with incomplete information regarding [his] phone calls with the Russian Ambassador”, thereby admitting that he had in fact lied to the government inside the White House over his Russian ties.

His resignation letter reads as follows:

“In the course of my duties as the Incoming National Security Advisor, I held numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts, ministers, and ambassadors. These calls were to facilitate a smooth transition and begin to build the necessary relationships between the President, his advisors and foreign leaders. Such calls are standard practice in any transition of this magnitude.

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Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the president and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology.

Throughout my over thirty three years of honorable military service, and my tenure as the National Security Advisor, I have always performed my duties with the utmost of integrity and honesty to those I have served, to include the President of the United States.

I am tendering my resignation, honored to have served our nation and the American people in such a distinguished way.

I am also extremely honored to have served President Trump, who in just three weeks, has reprinted American foreign policy in fundamental ways to restore America's leadership position in the world.

As I step away once again from serving my nation in this current capacity, I wish to thank President Trump for his personal loyalty, the friendship of those who I worked with throughout the hard fought campaign, the challenging period of transition, and during the early days of his presidency.

I know with the strong leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and the superb team they are assembling, this team will go down in history as one of the greatest presidencies in U.S> history, and I firmly believe the american people will be well served as they all work together to help Make America Great Again.

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Michael T. Flynn, LTG (Ret)

Assistant to the President/ National Security Advisor”

Big blow to Trump regime

Flynn’s unceremonious exit bodes terribly for the Donald Trump government which is already facing a deluge of opposition from not only the highly charged up mainstream media, particularly from establishment newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, as well as channels like CNN, but has also antagonised Silicon Valley, with its rabid anti-immigrant stance.

Michael Flynn’s appointment as the national security adviser had been mired in controversy – just like almost every other appointee into the Trump regime – for his chequered past involving deep stakes in Russia, as well as a late career lobbying for the Russians despite being a private US citizen post retirement. Flynn had violated the Logan Act, an “obscure” federal law which “prohibits people outside the executive branch from making foreign policy on behalf of the US administration”.

There are several inconsistencies in Michael Flynn’s account of his correspondence with the Russian Ambassador, and this for a retired Army lieutenant general means the end of his political career as the NSA to President Trump. The current regime has high-level appointees, most handpicked by Steven Bannon, Trump’s closest political aide and the chief architect of his rabid but ultimately successful election campaign.

With Flynn’s resignation, the involvement of Kremlin in Trump’s election in some manner or the other becomes even more evident, and Washington’s accusations, particularly the CIA’s, that the Democratic National Convention emails were hacked by the Russians gain further ground. It must be remembered that former President Barack Obama had expelled a bunch of Russian diplomats on this ground, while the controversy was still boiling over.

With White House aide and notorious “alt-fact” champion Kellyanne Conway publicly declaring that “Michael Flynn enjoys the full confidence of the president (Trump)”, it becomes an even more of a conundrum for the Trump regime to disavow Flynn and drop him like a hot potato even though he might now be facing prosecution and arrest for violating the Logan Act.

It must also be remembered that just like Flynn, allegations that Kremlin might be blackmailing President Trump himself for vulnerabilities exposed in the former business tycoons earlier dealings with the Russians mean that the 45th president of the United States could very well face impeachment some time in future.

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Last updated: February 14, 2017 | 15:11
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