A former Department of Justice official accused the department of being “disingenuous” by using statements she made in the motion to dismiss the criminal case against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
Mary McCord, former acting assistant attorney general for national security, claimed in a Sunday op-ed for the New York Times that the DOJ’s motion to drop the case “twisted” her words to suggest there was no legitimate counterintelligence reason behind interviewing the former national security adviser in 2017.
The motion, signed by U.S. Attorney for D.C. Timothy Shea, a confidant to Attorney General William Barr, cited an interview with McCord more than 25 times to argue that Flynn’s FBI interview was unwarranted and his lies to investigators were immaterial. McCord, however, does not support that conclusion.
“The account of my interview in 2017 doesn’t help the department support this conclusion, and it is disingenuous for the department to twist my words to suggest that it does,” she wrote. “What the account of my interview describes is a difference of opinion about what to do with the information that Mr. Flynn apparently had lied to the incoming vice president, Mr. Pence, and others in the incoming administration about whether he had discussed the Obama administration’s sanctions against Russia in his calls with Mr. Kislyak.”
McCord explained that she thinks the FBI mishandled the investigation into Flynn by failing to coordinate his interview with the DOJ. However, she added that she does not believe agents had no reason to suspect the Army lieutenant general of criminal activity.
“It has no bearing on whether Mr. Flynn’s lies to the FBI were material to the clear counterintelligence threat posed by the susceptible position Mr. Flynn put himself in when he told Mr. Pence and others in the new administration that he had not discussed the sanctions with Mr. Kislyak. The materiality is obvious,” she said. “In short, the report of my interview does not anywhere suggest that the FBI’s interview of Mr. Flynn was unconstitutional, unlawful or not ‘tethered’ to any legitimate counterintelligence purpose.”
The DOJ dropped the case against Flynn on Thursday. The former national security adviser had previously pleaded guilty to lying to investigators who were looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election but later withdrew his plea. FBI notes released before the case was dismissed showed agents discussed Flynn’s possible prosecution before interviewing him, leading his lawyers to allege he was set up.
Barr defended the decision to dismiss the case, which was heavily criticized by Democrats, hours later, saying, “I’m doing my duty under the law.”
