The son of Donald Trump’s pick for national security advisor was fired from the Trump transition team for publicly embracing a conspiracy theory. Michael G. Flynn, whose father is retired Lt. General Mike Flynn, is “no longer involved” with the transition, spokesman Jason Miller told reporters on a Tuesday conference call in response to a question from THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Miller said the younger Flynn had been doing “administrative work” and scheduling but was no longer with the transition.
The New York Times reported Tuesday evening that multiple sources confirmed Flynn had been fired by Trump because the 33-year-old had helped spread a conspiracy theory that claims a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant is the site of a child sex trafficking ring with ties to the campaign of Hillary Clinton. A man fired his rifle in that restaurant over the weekend because he believed the incorrect story the younger Flynn had promoted on his Twitter feed. Here’s more from the Times:
Pence’s claim does not appear to be true. An acquaintance of the Flynn told the Times he had expected to work for his father at the National Security Council and was in the process of receiving a security clearance.
Two transition officials confirmed to the Times Flynn’s removal from the staff was due to his Twitter postings on the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, which arose from the WikiLeaks hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails. “The convoluted theory alleges that Democratic operatives who ordered pizza from the bar were, in fact, speaking in code about procuring underage prostitutes, and also involves accusations of occult activity,” wrote BuzzFeed on the subject.
