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US President Donald Trump pardoned his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who admitted he lied to the FBI.
Flynn was among former aides to President Trump convicted during a Justice Department investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
He admitted in 2017 to lying to the FBI about communications with the Russian envoy, and then tried to withdraw his confessions.
Flynn interacted with the president’s announcement, by posting a tweet containing a symbol of the American flag and a verse from the Bible.
And the verse says: “And they will fight you, but they will not be able to you, because I am with you, to save you,” says the Lord.
Flynn’s supporters believe that he was the victim of attempts by the administration of former President Barack Obama to question the law of the Trump administration by allegations of Russian interference in the elections.
Jerrold Nadler, chair of the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, led Democrats’ condemnation of Trump’s decision to pardon Flynn.
He issued a swift statement saying, “This amnesty is unworthy, unprincipled, and yet another blot on President Trump’s rapidly shrinking legacy.”
Who is Michael Flynn?
He was an early supporter of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, although he had always been a Democrat during his life before that.
Flynn was among the first appointments for the new president – Trump appointed him just days after he won the election.
The two sides agreed on many issues, including the benefits of closer ties with Russia, renegotiation of the Iran nuclear deal, and combating the threat posed by the Islamic State.
But Barack Obama had warned against hiring Flynn. In 2014, the Obama administration removed Flynn from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Flynn, who served three decades in the US Army, complained of being toppled at the time for saying harsh facts about the war on Islamic extremism, as he put it.
