President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters he feels “very badly” for his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, days after Flynn pled guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team about his interactions with Russian officials before President Trump’s inauguration.
“I feel badly for General Flynn,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn as he prepared to board Marine One. “He’s led a strong life, and I feel very badly about it. I will say this: Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI and nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and it destroyed his life, and I think it’s a shame. Hillary Clinton on the Fourth of July weekend went to the FBI, not under oath—it was the most incredible thing anyone has ever seen—lied many times, nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and it’s like it ruined his life. It’s very unfair.”
Flynn made it clear last week that he is cooperating with Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, abruptly breaking off communications with the White House’s legal team on November 23 before issuing his plea last Friday. The former advisor is charged with misleading the FBI about conversations he had with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in which he asked Russia not to escalate tensions with America following new sanctions imposed by President Obama.
Prior to Trump’s Monday comments, the White House had attempted to distance the administration from Flynn. Trump’s attorney Ty Cobb issued a statement Friday saying Flynn had only served at the White House for 25 days and calling him “a former Obama administration official.”
