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NYT: Michael Flynn Misled Pentagon About His Russia Ties, Letter Says

Sephzilla

Member
My worry is that Trump will try to pardon Flynn and then any leverage they have to make Flynn turn on Trump will be gone
 
Probably didn't want to get stuck if he got immunity and just pleaded the 5th the whole time.
I don't think you can plead the fifth if you've agreed to immunity.

Also guys,
Congressional committees have the power to grant testimonial immunity to witnesses who testify before members of Congress. Congressional investigations into allegations of misconduct—such as the WATERGATE investigations in the 1970s and the IRAN-CONTRA investigations in the 1980s—rely heavily on witness testimony. Whereas prosecutors simply decide whether to grant immunity to a witness, congressional committees must follow more formal procedures. Immunity may be granted only after a two-thirds majority vote by members of the committee. Ten days before the immunized testimony is given, the committee must advise the JUSTICE DEPARTMENT or the INDEPENDENT COUNSEL of its intention to grant immunity.
A congressional committee could grant immunity.
 
If they can't grant it how was it offered?

Well it hasn't been offered that I'm aware of. The Senate Intelligence Committee refused when it was suggested by Flynn's attorney.

But I was wrong. Congress can grant immunity, but it's rarely done these days. (Last time was in 2007).
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
My worry is that Trump will try to pardon Flynn and then any leverage they have to make Flynn turn on Trump will be gone

The pardon power is limited by a few things though such as pardons not applying to matters pertaining to impeachment.
 
But the fact that he didn't get it actually worries me a bit... Did he really have no good information about Trump's possible involvement? I would imagine if he did, he would have been granted immunity

He could very well be up for treason charges considering his sabotage of anti-ISIS operations. Really don't think there is an appetite to grant immunity for those actions.
 
I'm so confused. Is there a link to all aggregated news? It seems like every day someone did something they're not supposed to do.
 
Is this accurate? I don't think it is. I thought we have an instance where congress has granted immunity that affected special prosecutions ability to prosecute.
Congress can't grant immunity from criminal charges, but it can grant immunity so that any testimony cannot be used as evidence against him.
 

Maxim726X

Member
He could very well up for treason charges considering his sabotage of anti-ISIS operations. Really don't think there is an appetite to grant immunity for those actions.

Fair point, but don't you think that someone (the FBI, especially) would have bitten if he promised to give over something that would implicate Trump?
 
If Trump pardons Flynn, can the next President undo said pardon?

Hrm. I'm actually unfamiliar with how the pardoning system works.

5 minutes of research implies the power is pretty wide, and really unclear what restraints it has.

One wrinkle is accepting a presidental pardon (you can reject it) is essentially an admission of guilt, and while you're not considered a criminal, it will still remain on your record.

That said Trump can pardon someone who has yet to be convicted and tried. It also seems unclear how much power the courts have to overturn it.

Im sure others can provide more knowledgable points. Edit: and they have.
 
Congress can't grant immunity from criminal charges, but it can grant immunity so that any testimony cannot be used as evidence against him.

This seems like two sides of the same coin to me.

Fair point, but don't you think that someone (the FBI, especially) would have bitten if he promised to give over something that would implicate Trump?

Not if they don't need what he's going to say since they already have the evidence. With all these leaks regarding Flynn, I would assume that's probably the case, but who knows.

EDIT: I''m also OK with finding out Trump is just a useful idiot. Even then he's still guilty of obstruction and probably a cover up.
 

shira

Member
Putin will give him immunity
burn.gif
 

Mark L

Member
At the end of the day, the only question I have is this: why hasn't someone made a gif out of that storm trooper with the hand to hand weapon and used it in some kind of Trump related context yet?
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
how much do NYT and WAPO have to seriously be releasing this stuff at 4pm central every weekday for a week now?

I've only been alive 32 years but ive never seen anything like it.
 
He's doing everything in his power to stay quite because he knows the moment he decides to speak he's gonna get the ol' "polonium latte."
 
Yeah it's moving on to a debate asking just what degree of fucked Flynn is at this point.

"You are so fucked we had to come up with a specific name just for your case. We've been workshopping 'Hyperfucked'. You are fucked from every conceivable angle, including ways newly discovered by you."
 
This seems like two sides of the same coin to me.
In theory you could convict him on the basis of other evidence (financial records, etc.) without bringing up his congressional testimony at the criminal trial. In practice, congressional immunity can trip things up because it can be hard to prove that the case wasn't influenced somehow by the testimony, even if the rest of the evidence is sufficient. That's why Oliver North got his convictions tossed out - he testified publicly in a hearing before the FBI had their case, and although they didn't use his testimony at trial it's possible that the jurors were influenced by the coverage.

Not if they don't need what he's going to say since they already have the evidence. With all these leaks regarding Flynn, I would assume that's probably the case, but who knows.
My secret hope is the IC has Trump and his goons dead-to-rights and they keep drip-feeding leaks to the press because they know Congress won't take the Russia investigation seriously unless the public pressure is overwhelming.
 

entremet

Member
how much do NYT and WAPO have to seriously be releasing this stuff at 4pm central every weekday for a week now?

I've only been alive 32 years but ive never seen anything like it.
Just more hit pieces from the lamestream media. Nothing to see here.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
So I guess this either ends with Trump pardoning Flynn, or Flynn deciding to sing for immunity.

Flynn already floated that trial balloon. Feds don't seem interested. They either don't need him or they think him sweating might unravel some more threads,
 
Though I say that, how much holdover staff in the WH is really even left? Hasn't Trump already purged a large amount of holdover staff?
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Doesn't this prove all leaks as true? Or rather, that these leaks are legitimate leaks and not "fake news" made up by the press.

Don't worry. Trump is a master of not incriminating himself with showy public displays of stupidity.
 
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