SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn arrives for his sentencing hearing at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 2018. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
'One More Stain on Trump's Rapidly Diminishing Legacy': President Pardons Former Adviser Michael Flynn
"One liar pardons another. What a disgrace."
Nov 24, 2020
Progressive critics and Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage Wednesday as President Donald Trump announced a pardon of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn--who despite pleading guilty twice to lying to the FBI about his conversations in 2016 with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, will now face no consequences for his actions.
"It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon," Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
The pardon was announced six months after Attorney General William Barr moved to drop the Department of Justice's case against Flynn, an action which led to calls for Barr's impeachment by public advocacy groups including Common Cause. Flynn's sentencing for his guilty pleas has also been delayed twice.
Barr's attempt to drop the case has been held up by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who was urged to scrutinize the legitimacy of the move. Trump issued the pardon after Flynn unsuccessfully requested that an appeals court block Sullivan's review of Barr's decision.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) noted that Trump's pardon of Flynn fit a pattern that was established when the president commuted the 40-month sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone, who was convicted of seven felony counts, including lying to Congress under oath, withholding documents pertaining to the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign's alleged communications with Russia, and threatening another witness if he cooperated with the probe.
"It is important to talk about why the President pardoned Flynn," said Nadler. "President Trump dangled this pardon to encourage Flynn to backtrack on his pledge to cooperate with federal investigators--cooperation that might have exposed the President's own wrongdoing. And it worked. Flynn broke his deal, recanted his plea, received the backing of the Attorney General over the objections of career prosecutors, and now has secured a pardon from the President of the United States."
"This pardon is part of a pattern," Nadler continued. "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. 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."
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was among the groups which condemned Trump for using his pardoning power selectively in favor of his own friends and associates--not to restore justice to the wrongly convicted.
"President Trump is on pace to have one of the lowest rates of pardons and commutations of any president in recent time," said Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee. "While he has pardoned convicted felons, including a sheriff notorious for terrorizing immigrant communities, a war criminal, and two men whose release was sought by violent white extremists, he has failed to use his power to grant clemency to those who remain incarcerated for low-level, non-violent offenses. The pardon of Michael Flynn, just like the Justice Department's abrupt decision to abandon his prosecution, is another gross abuse of executive power."
Trump has pardoned only 38 people since taking office in 2017, while President Barack Obama issued more than 1,900 pardons.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich denounced the pardon, which he said offered a stark illustration of the unequal system of criminal justice in the United States.
"This pardon is undeserved, unprincipled, and one more stain on President Trump's rapidly diminishing legacy," said Nadler.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Progressive critics and Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage Wednesday as President Donald Trump announced a pardon of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn--who despite pleading guilty twice to lying to the FBI about his conversations in 2016 with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, will now face no consequences for his actions.
"It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon," Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
The pardon was announced six months after Attorney General William Barr moved to drop the Department of Justice's case against Flynn, an action which led to calls for Barr's impeachment by public advocacy groups including Common Cause. Flynn's sentencing for his guilty pleas has also been delayed twice.
Barr's attempt to drop the case has been held up by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who was urged to scrutinize the legitimacy of the move. Trump issued the pardon after Flynn unsuccessfully requested that an appeals court block Sullivan's review of Barr's decision.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) noted that Trump's pardon of Flynn fit a pattern that was established when the president commuted the 40-month sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone, who was convicted of seven felony counts, including lying to Congress under oath, withholding documents pertaining to the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign's alleged communications with Russia, and threatening another witness if he cooperated with the probe.
"It is important to talk about why the President pardoned Flynn," said Nadler. "President Trump dangled this pardon to encourage Flynn to backtrack on his pledge to cooperate with federal investigators--cooperation that might have exposed the President's own wrongdoing. And it worked. Flynn broke his deal, recanted his plea, received the backing of the Attorney General over the objections of career prosecutors, and now has secured a pardon from the President of the United States."
"This pardon is part of a pattern," Nadler continued. "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. 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."
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was among the groups which condemned Trump for using his pardoning power selectively in favor of his own friends and associates--not to restore justice to the wrongly convicted.
"President Trump is on pace to have one of the lowest rates of pardons and commutations of any president in recent time," said Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee. "While he has pardoned convicted felons, including a sheriff notorious for terrorizing immigrant communities, a war criminal, and two men whose release was sought by violent white extremists, he has failed to use his power to grant clemency to those who remain incarcerated for low-level, non-violent offenses. The pardon of Michael Flynn, just like the Justice Department's abrupt decision to abandon his prosecution, is another gross abuse of executive power."
Trump has pardoned only 38 people since taking office in 2017, while President Barack Obama issued more than 1,900 pardons.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich denounced the pardon, which he said offered a stark illustration of the unequal system of criminal justice in the United States.
"This pardon is undeserved, unprincipled, and one more stain on President Trump's rapidly diminishing legacy," said Nadler.
Progressive critics and Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage Wednesday as President Donald Trump announced a pardon of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn--who despite pleading guilty twice to lying to the FBI about his conversations in 2016 with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, will now face no consequences for his actions.
"It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon," Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
The pardon was announced six months after Attorney General William Barr moved to drop the Department of Justice's case against Flynn, an action which led to calls for Barr's impeachment by public advocacy groups including Common Cause. Flynn's sentencing for his guilty pleas has also been delayed twice.
Barr's attempt to drop the case has been held up by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who was urged to scrutinize the legitimacy of the move. Trump issued the pardon after Flynn unsuccessfully requested that an appeals court block Sullivan's review of Barr's decision.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) noted that Trump's pardon of Flynn fit a pattern that was established when the president commuted the 40-month sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone, who was convicted of seven felony counts, including lying to Congress under oath, withholding documents pertaining to the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign's alleged communications with Russia, and threatening another witness if he cooperated with the probe.
"It is important to talk about why the President pardoned Flynn," said Nadler. "President Trump dangled this pardon to encourage Flynn to backtrack on his pledge to cooperate with federal investigators--cooperation that might have exposed the President's own wrongdoing. And it worked. Flynn broke his deal, recanted his plea, received the backing of the Attorney General over the objections of career prosecutors, and now has secured a pardon from the President of the United States."
"This pardon is part of a pattern," Nadler continued. "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. 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."
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was among the groups which condemned Trump for using his pardoning power selectively in favor of his own friends and associates--not to restore justice to the wrongly convicted.
"President Trump is on pace to have one of the lowest rates of pardons and commutations of any president in recent time," said Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee. "While he has pardoned convicted felons, including a sheriff notorious for terrorizing immigrant communities, a war criminal, and two men whose release was sought by violent white extremists, he has failed to use his power to grant clemency to those who remain incarcerated for low-level, non-violent offenses. The pardon of Michael Flynn, just like the Justice Department's abrupt decision to abandon his prosecution, is another gross abuse of executive power."
Trump has pardoned only 38 people since taking office in 2017, while President Barack Obama issued more than 1,900 pardons.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich denounced the pardon, which he said offered a stark illustration of the unequal system of criminal justice in the United States.
"This pardon is undeserved, unprincipled, and one more stain on President Trump's rapidly diminishing legacy," said Nadler.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.