Thanks to the FBI and the Department of Justice’s rather interesting interpretation of their investigative and legal discovery responsibilities, Michael Flynn has had the charges against him dropped.
Still, Flynn should never have been appointed national security adviser in the first place. Whereas his predecessor Susan Rice was (and is) an appeaser of American enemies, Flynn spent the 2015-2017 period inadvertently giving America’s enemies ammunition against us.
Front and center here was Flynn’s attitude towards Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Flynn’s decision to pursue a secret communication with the then-Russian ambassador was terribly misguided. The Logan Act precluding foreign policy action outside government is a joke, but Flynn should never have discussed sanctions with the Russians prior to entering office. In doing so, he gave the Russians space to undermine American foreign policy — which Moscow then gleefully did, undercutting U.S. credibility at the United Nations. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter that those particular U.S. actions at the U.N. were ill-advised, only that Russia used Flynn to damage America.
When Flynn then discussed sanctions relief with the ambassador, then denied discussing said relief, he opened himself to compromise by a Russian state that revels in that tactic. How Flynn thought the FBI wouldn’t be listening in to the Russian ambassador’s phone beggars belief.
That’s not the end of it.
As I’ve noted before, Flynn’s decision to attend a December 2015 Moscow gala for Putin’s RT propaganda network was extraordinarily idiotic. Most public servants would have recognized that traveling to Moscow for RT would be presented as a nod to Putin, but coming from the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Flynn’s action was absurd. He must have known that RT exists to undermine the truth, to damage American civil society, and to advance Putin’s manifestly hostile strategy against the United States. Flynn apparently believed that the $45,000 paycheck he received made up for all these concerns. The ensuing photo of him sitting beside a smiling former KGB officer proves it did not.
There were other good reasons to avoid Flynn’s pick to lead President Trump’s national security apparatus. For one, Flynn was poorly regarded by many at Joint Special Operations Command, and he embellished his role in that organization’s successes. For another, Flynn’s DIA leadership was defined by acrimony and mission confusion.
So, yes, I’m glad Flynn can go back to his family, relax, and earn some lucrative speaking tour gigs. But he should never have been appointed national security adviser.
