Congressional Democrats are lambasting President Trump for pardoning retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn after the Justice Department moved to drop charges against him stemming from the federal Russia investigation.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said on Wednesday that Trump’s action was in line with his repeated abuse of the pardon power “to reward friends and protect those who covered up for him.”
“This time he pardons Michael Flynn, who lied to hide his dealings with the Russians. It’s no surprise that Trump would go out as he came in — Crooked to the end,” the California lawmaker tweeted.
Donald Trump has repeatedly abused the pardon power to reward friends and protect those who covered up for him.
This time he pardons Michael Flynn, who lied to hide his dealings with the Russians.
It’s no surprise that Trump would go out as he came in —
Crooked to the end.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 25, 2020
Colleague House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler described pardoning Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, as “undeserved,” “unprincipled,” and “one more stain” on the president’s “rapidly diminishing legacy.”
“This pardon is part of a pattern. We saw it before, in the Roger Stone case — where President Trump granted clemency to protect an individual who might have implicated the president in criminal misconduct,” he wrote in a statement. “We may see it again before President Trump finally leaves office. These actions are an abuse of power and fundamentally undermine the rule of law.”
Nadler on Flynn:
“This pardon is undeserved, unprincipled, and one more stain on President Trump’s rapidly diminishing legacy.” pic.twitter.com/gfXlJNRiJr
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) November 25, 2020
Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, resigned in February 2017 for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Flynn and Kislyak spoke in December 2016 regarding Russia’s response to President Barack Obama’s administration expelling Russians from the U.S. over Russian election interference and its stance on a United Nations resolution on Israel.
He later pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to investigators concerning his contact with Kislyak, agreeing to cooperate with former special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s inquiry. But he then sought to dismiss the government’s case against him after previously unseen documents emerged that were deemed exculpatory by Flynn’s defenders.
The DOJ moved to drop the charges in May, following a deep-dive review by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeffrey Jensen. The DOJ said that “continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice.”
Presiding Judge Emmet Sullivan, however, has refused to dismiss it.
