Michael Flynn Reportedly "Worried" About Flynn Jr. In Special Counsel Probe

In their attempt to cobble together a "Russian Collusion" bombshell for the evening, CNN has apparently managed to confirm that Michael Flynn is in fact the father of Michael Flynn Jr.

While we jest, of course, "worrying" would seem to be the natural reaction of a father to a Special Counsel probe that started off as an investigation into alleged Russian collusion but has seemingly morphed into a crusade to dig up any and all dirt on a handful of Trump administration officials, dirt which may or may not be in anyway related to the Trump campaign.  Be that as it may, here is CNN"s take on Flynn"s concern for Flynn Jr:

Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn has expressed concern about the potential legal exposure of his son, Michael Flynn Jr., who, like his father, is under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

 

Flynn"s concern could factor into decisions about how to respond to Mueller"s ongoing investigation. The special counsel is looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign as well as the business dealings of key campaign advisers to President Donald Trump.

 

Flynn"s wife, Lori, shares his concerns about their son"s possible legal exposure, according to a person who knows the family.

As we"ve discussed repeatedly over the past several months, Flynn and his consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, are under investigation for everything from a series of phone calls he made to Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak to a potentially laundered consulting payment from the Turkish government allegedly tied to efforts to remove a Turkish cleric who has been living in exile in Pennsylvania.

Interviews conducted by special counsel investigators have included questions about the business dealings of Flynn and his son such as their firm"s reporting of income from work overseas, two witnesses interviewed by the team told CNN. The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires people acting as agents of foreign entities to publicly disclose their relationship with foreign countries or businesses and financial compensation for such work.

 

Flynn Jr., who served as his father"s chief of staff and top aide, was actively involved in his father"s consulting and lobbying work at their firm, Flynn Intel Group. That included joining his father on overseas trips, such as Moscow in December 2015. During that trip, Flynn dined with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a black-tie gala for the RT television network, which US intelligence views as a Russian propaganda outlet.

 

Flynn"s business dealings have been the subject of federal investigation since November 2016, prior to Mueller"s appointment in March. Flynn is also under legal scrutiny by Mueller"s team for undisclosed lobbying that he did during the presidential campaign on behalf of the Turkish government, according to sources familiar with the matter. It"s against the law to lobby in the United States on behalf of a foreign government without informing the Justice Department.

 

FBI investigators also have scrutinized a series of phone calls during the Trump transition between Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the US at the time, Sergey Kislyak. The conversations centered on US sanctions against Russia and whether they would remain in place during the Trump administration.

 

Another area of interest to Mueller"s team is Flynn"s alleged participation in discussions about the idea of removing a Turkish cleric who has been living in exile in Pennsylvania, sources said. In the past, a spokesman for Flynn has denied that such discussions occurred.

 

The former general"s consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, took $530,000 from a company based in the Netherlands that has extensive ties to the Turkish government.

Of course, as worried as his parents may be, Jr. doesn"t seem to be all that concerned after tweeting out the following over the weekend...

"The SJW are out in full this morning....the disappointment on your faces

when I don’t go to jail will be worth all your harassment..."

The SJW are out in full this morning....the disappointment on your faces when I don’t go to jail will be worth all your harassment...

— ????????MFLYNNJR???????? (@mflynnJR) November 5, 2017

In First Formal Request, Mueller Asks White House For Flynn Documents

In the first known case of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team asking the White House to hand over records, investigators working for Mueller - who is investigating whether President Donald Trump"s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia and who last week reportedly empanelled a grand jury -  have asked the White House for documents related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the New York Times reported late on Friday.

Prosecutors and FBI agents "have spent hours poring over the details of Mr. Flynn’s business dealings with a Turkish-American businessman who worked last year with Mr. Flynn and his consulting business, the Flynn Intel Group" the Times reports. The company was paid $530,000 to run a campaign to discredit an opponent of the Turkish government who has been accused of orchestrating last year’s failed coup in the country. Flynn’s campaign to discredit Erdogan"s opponent, Fethullah Gulen, began on Aug. 9 when his firm signed a $600,000 deal with Inovo BV, a Dutch company owned by a Turkish-American businessman.

Reuters reported in June that according to a subpoena, federal prosecutors in Virginia were investigating a deal between Flynn and Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin as part of a grand jury criminal probe.  Investigators want to know if the Turkish government was behind those payments — and if the Flynn Intel Group made kickbacks to the businessman, Ekim Alptekin, for helping conceal the source of the money.

Prosecutors have also asked during interviews about Mr. Flynn’s speaking engagements for Russian companies, for which he was paid more than $65,000 in 2015, and about his company’s clients — including work it may have done with the Japanese government.

They have also asked about the White Canvas Group, a data-mining company that was reportedly paid $200,000 by the Trump campaign for unspecified services. The Flynn Intel Group shared office space with the White Canvas Group, which was founded by a former Special Operations officer who was a friend of Mr. Flynn’s.

Furthermore, Flynn has filed three versions of his financial-disclosure forms, as his first version did not disclose payments from Russia-linked companies, which he added to an amended version of the forms he submitted in March. This week he filed a third version, adding that he briefly had a contract with SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm that worked with the Trump campaign.

The new forms list at least $1.8 million in income, up from roughly the $1.4 million he had previously reported. It is unclear how much of that money was related to work Mr. Flynn did on Turkey issues.

The new line of questioning suggests that Mueller’s inquiry has expanded into a full-fledged examination of Flynn’s financial dealings, the Times reports, beyond disclosures about his conversations and business arrangements with Russian officials and the relatively narrow question of whether he failed to register as a foreign agent or lied about his conversations and business arrangements with Russian officials.

As a reminder, Flynn - who lasted only 24 days as national security advisor - resigned from the Trump administration in February after reports surfaced he had misled senior White House officials about his past conversations with Kremlin officials. Flynn declined to comment for the Times report, while Trump"s special counsel Ty Cobb stressed that the White House was cooperating with the probe.

"The White House will not be discussing any specific communications with the Special Counsel out of respect for the Special Counsel and his process. Beyond that, as I have stressed repeatedly, we continue to fully cooperate with the Special Counsel," Cobb said in a statement.