Michael Flynn, the former Trump national security adviser, pleaded guilty in federal court to the charge of lying to FBI officials about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador. Flynn’s defenders have insisted his lie was innocent and immaterial.
Late Friday afternoon, the Trump administration released the transcript of that conversation. The timing itself does not indicate much confidence that the transcript would support Flynn’s interpretation (late Friday afternoons not being the customary time to drop favorable news stories). And indeed, the transcript makes Flynn’s call look even less innocent.
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On December 29, 2016, President Obama announced economic sanctions against Russia to retaliate for its interference in the presidential elections. Flynn, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, quickly got on the phone with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. When word of the phone call leaked, the administration announced that the call had merely served the purpose of touching base and exchanging pleasantries. “On Christmas Day, General Flynn reached out to the ambassador, sent him a text, and it said, you know, I want to wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I look forward to touching base with you and working with you,” announced Press Secretary Sean Spicer. “The call centered around the logistics of setting up a call with the president of Russia and the president-elect after he was sworn in.”
The FBI, which was already conducting a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, asked Flynn if he and Kislyak had discussed the sanctions. Flynn insisted he hadn’t, a lie he later pleaded guilty to.
Flynn’s lawyers insisted his call was “consistent with him advocating for, not against, the interests of the United States.” That depends heavily on how one defines “the interests of the United States.” In December 2016, the United States had a strong interest in punishing and deterring hostile foreign governments that had stolen the private communications of American political figures in order to affect the outcome of the election. By January 20, the United States would have a very different interest.
That context looms over the Flynn-Kislyak call. The U.S. government at the time was treating Russia’s efforts to help Trump win as a hostile act. The beneficiary of those acts was not.
