Rep. Rand Paul is encouraging President Trump to pardon retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn following the release of records related to his case.
The Kentucky Republican on Thursday criticized the actions of top FBI officials after it was revealed Wednesday that agents discussed the possible prosecution of the former national security adviser before interviewing him in relation to the Department of Justice’s investigation into Russian election interference.
Linking to an article from the Hill that laid out the timeline of the Flynn inquiry, Paul ripped members of the intelligence community and demanded that Trump pardon Flynn immediately.
“This is egregious and unacceptable behavior. I believe @realDonaldTrump should pardon Gen. Flynn,” he tweeted. “FBI official discussed trying to get Flynn to lie in interview, ‘get him fired,’ notes show.”
This is egregious and unacceptable behavior. I believe @realDonaldTrump should pardon Gen. Flynn. FBI official discussed trying to get Flynn to lie in interview, ‘get him fired,’ notes show | TheHill https://t.co/Cqd3F5GUIM
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 30, 2020
Facing up to 15 years in prison, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to investigators in 2017 about his contacts with foreign nationals but later withdrew his plea and has since insisted he is innocent.
Freshly unsealed documents showed handwritten notes from an unnamed official believed to belong to the FBI’s head of counterintelligence, Bill Priestap, in which he wondered whether the goal of interviewing Flynn was to get him to tell the truth or to catch him in a lie so that he could be charged with a crime or removed from his position.
“What is our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” the FBI official wrote.
Flynn’s lead attorney, Sidney Powell, slammed the actions of FBI agents, calling the handwritten notes “absolutely appalling.”
“It’s just absolutely appalling what these agents, and then special counsel operatives, did to General Flynn,” she said. “It’s abuse of their authority at every turn.”
Trump has issued 25 pardons since he took office and is under pressure to pardon not only Flynn but also former associate Roger Stone, who is awaiting 40 months in prison. Paul has been critical of the FBI and during the height of the Mueller investigation accused former agents Lisa Page and Peter Strzok of having a “political vendetta” against Trump.
