Biden may have 'personally raised idea' to probe Michael Flynn over ties with Russia, court documents reveal
Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden may have “personally raised the idea” of probing former national security adviser (NSA) Michael Flynn for potentially violating the Logan Act during his telephonic talks with former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak, according to freshly filed court reports. According to the document which was previously sealed, former president Barack Obama told his administration’s top officials that Flynn should be investigated by “the right people”.
The partly redacted notes, handwritten by tainted ex-Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Peter Strzok, pointed to the possibility of the former vice president suggesting that Flynn could have violated the said act when speaking to former Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. ‘VP: “Logan Act”’, read Strzok's notes, dated January 4, 2017.
“According to Strzok’s notes, it appears that Vice President Biden personally raised the idea of the Logan Act,” Flynn’s defense lawyers Jesse Binnall and Sidney Powell opined.
The latest episode marked a new twist in the extraordinary case involving the former NSA who served less than a month in the post in January-February 2017. Hell broke loose recently over the justice department’s decision to drop charges against the man, igniting a virtual war between the Trump and Obama administrations. While Obama disagreed with the decision to drop the charges, Trump took on his predecessor and Biden accusing them of indulging in corrupt practices to undermine his presidency.
Claims over Biden involvement came same day as Flynn's court ruling
The claims over Biden’s involvement came the same day an appeals court directed a federal judge to drop the criminal case against Flynn, 61. He pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI during its probe of the ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia but claimed later that he was “set up and framed” by the bureau.
In May, Biden claimed that as the VP, he knew “nothing” about the Obama administration’s decision to investigate Flynn. “I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn,” the 77-year-old told Good Morning America on May 12. But when he was pushed, the veteran said he had failed to understand the question. “No, I thought you asked me whether or not I had anything to do with him being prosecuted. I'm sorry,” Biden backtracked before adding: “I was aware that there was - that they asked for an investigation, but that's all I know about it, and I don't think anything else.”
Wednesday, June 24, saw the key ruling from the appeals court in favor of Flynn and President Donald Trump welcomed it. The president, who has backed his former NSA in the case, tweeted: “Great! Appeals Court Upholds Justice Departments Request To Drop Criminal Case Against General Michael Flynn!”
In February 2017, Flynn resigned amid intelligence leaks that he had secretly discussed sanctions with Kislyak and then tried to cover up the conversations. The new Trump administration then issued a statement late in the night announcing Flynn’s departure shortly after reports broke that it was warned weeks ago that Flynn could be vulnerable to Russia’s blackmailing ploys.