Legal expert Ken Starr called the FBI investigation into retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn “illegitimate.”
“We certainly do need to know why was the president, and now the vice president at the time, in the know about an investigation into Mike Flynn?” Starr said of former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. “And I’m going to use a very harsh word, it was an illegitimate investigation.”
Starr continued: “In light of what the four months of investigation into Gen. Flynn … let’s assume the earlier investigation, did he have contacts with the … Russian assets … let’s just assume that was legitimate. But as of Jan. 4, almost two weeks before this meeting in which the vice president participated, the FBI at lower levels of the operating levels says, ‘We don’t have anything derogatory. … We don’t need to continue this, let’s close it. A closed memorandum.'”
Flynn was charged with and pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about his contacts with the Russian government as part of the counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
Newly released transcripts show top officials at the FBI pressed on with the investigation of Flynn, despite a lack of evidence he had committed a crime.
“Now, why would the president of the United States and the vice president of the United States be getting this information about an investigation in their final days in office of Gen. Flynn, why?” Starr asked. “Sally Yates, the information we had was the acting attorney general in those waning days was absolutely blindsided once again by Jim Comey.”
President Trump has cited the Department of Justice’s decision to drop charges against Flynn and release of the transcripts related to the Russia probe as evidence of a conspiracy at the FBI to undermine him.
Trump has dubbed the scandal “Obamagate.”
Attorney General William Barr has appointed a prosecutor to determine if any crimes were committed by top law enforcement officials during the Russia probe.
