{"id":55542,"date":"2017-12-28T04:58:42","date_gmt":"2017-12-28T04:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=55542"},"modified":"2017-12-28T04:58:42","modified_gmt":"2017-12-28T04:58:42","slug":"trump-legal-team-readies-attack-on-flynns-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/trump-legal-team-readies-attack-on-flynns-credibility.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump legal team readies attack on Flynn’s credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump legal team readies attack on Flynn’s credibility<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

President Trump\u2019s legal team plans to cast former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn as a liar seeking to protect himself if he accuses the president or his senior aides of any wrongdoing, according to three people familiar with the strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The approach would mark a sharp break from Trump\u2019s previously sympathetic posture toward Flynn, whom he called a \u201cwonderful man\u201d when Flynn was ousted from the White House in February. Earlier this month, the president did not rule out a possible pardon for Flynn, who is cooperating with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III\u2019s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Attorneys for Trump and his top advisers have privately expressed confidence that Flynn does not have any evidence that could implicate the president or his White House team. But since Flynn\u2019s cooperation agreement with prosecutors was made public earlier this month, the administration has been strategizing how to neutralize him in case the former national security adviser does make any claims.<\/span><\/p>\n

Flynn is the most senior former Trump adviser known to be providing information to Mueller\u2019s team. The lenient terms of his plea agreement suggest he has promised significant information to investigators, legal experts said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to one felony count of lying to the FBI, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Prosecutors said they will recommend a sentence from zero to six months in prison as part of his cooperation deal. Flynn\u2019s son, who served as his chief of staff, also faced the risk of criminal charges, according to people familiar with the plea negotiations, but was spared.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s legal team has seized on Flynn\u2019s agreement with prosecutors as fodder for a possible defense, if necessary. In court filings, the retired lieutenant general admitted that he lied to the FBI about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the December 2016 transition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s said it himself: He\u2019s a liar,\u201d said one person helping craft the strategy who was granted anonymity to describe private conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert Kelner, an attorney for Flynn, declined to comment. Ty Cobb, the White House attorney overseeing the response to the special counsel investigation, also declined to comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defense lawyers have said privately that Flynn will be unable to point to White House or campaign records turned over in the probe to bolster any claims of a criminal scheme. None of those records suggest a conspiracy by Trump or his inner circle to improperly work with Russians to defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, according to people who have reviewed the documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

The private talks about assailing Flynn\u2019s credibility come even as Trump has signaled that a pardon is not off the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet,\u201d the president said Dec. 15. \u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens. Let\u2019s see. I can say this: When you look at what\u2019s gone on with the FBI and with the Justice Department, people are very, very angry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of Flynn\u2019s family members appear to be counting on Trump to act. On Tuesday, one of Flynn\u2019s brothers tweeted a message urging the president to pardon his former adviser, responding to a tweet by Trump alleging bias in the FBI.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMr. President, I personally believe that a pardon is due to General Flynn, given the apparent and obvious illegitimacy of the manner in which the so called \u2018crimes\u2019 he plead guilty to were extracted from him,\u201d Joseph Flynn wrote. \u201cI ask for quick action on this. Thank you and keep up the good work!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joseph Flynn did not respond to requests for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside legal experts said that discussing ways to undermine a possible witness is a natural first step for defense lawyers to consider.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty predictable,\u201d said Randall D. Eliason, a former public corruption prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Washington. \u201cDefense will always argue that a cooperator who lied previously should not be believed, and that there is insufficient evidence of the conspiracy. It\u2019s Defense Strategy 101.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added: \u201cHow effective it would be depends entirely on the strength of the other evidence that the prosecution can present to prove its case and corroborate Flynn.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbara Van Gelder, a veteran white-collar defense lawyer and former prosecutor, called it \u201ctextbook\u201d for the defense team to raise doubts about Flynn\u2019s version of events.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey will pull out all the arguments: \u2018You pleaded guilty. You don\u2019t have anything more than your word, and you probably got your son off with this. You got the deal of the century,\u2019 \u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Securing documents that corroborate the statements of cooperators such as Flynn is often key when the case comes down to dueling accounts, legal experts said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2019s recollections can be faulty but .\u2009.\u2009. you can\u2019t cross-examine a document,\u201d Van Gelder said. \u201cIt is what it is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Exactly what Flynn might offer Mueller about what he saw inside the Trump operation remains a mystery. Van Gelder noted that in the way the special counsel structured Flynn\u2019s plea agreement, prosecutors avoided sharing the guts of their ongoing investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what I thought was the brilliance of the Flynn plea,\u201d she said. \u201cIt said: \u2018I\u2019m giving just enough to have the judge sentence you within the guidelines, but not giving anything to anybody else.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

White House advisers have noted Flynn did not plead guilty to being a co-conspirator in any criminal scheme, which they argue shows he is not able to provide evidence of a larger conspiracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some legal experts said prosecutors could still rely on Flynn\u2019s testimony to allege such a scheme. However, others said persuading a jury to charge a conspiracy that did not include a key witness would be more difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

If Mueller opted not to charge him in a conspiracy, Van Gelder asked, \u201chow much of a crime is it, really?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/trump-legal-team-readies-attack-on-flynns-credibility\/2017\/12\/27\/bc601324-ea78-11e7-b698-91d4e35920a3_story.html?utm_term=.509ede1a0ab3<\/span><\/p>\n

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