MUELLER’S MEMORANDUM ON FLYNN SUGGESTS WHITE HOUSE SHOULD BE WORRIED

…Michael Flynn and son.  Flynn’s son was also initially implicated by the Mueller investigation

One wonders, what other of Trump’s team has been implicated by Michael Flynn?

Special counsel, Robert Mueller finally filed his much-anticipated sentencing memorandum in the case of the former national security adviser Michael Flynn.  Large portions of Mueller’s memo were redacted because they relate to ongoing investigations.  But reading between the blacked-out lines, this latest move by the special counsel more than suggests that the White House should be worried about what may still be in the works for Trump and his associates.

If one reviews the actual redacted sections of the memo, and the way these sentencing memos are normally structured, the redactions would suggest that the amount of aid that Mr. Flynn was able to provide may have allowed the special counsel to pursue two or three additional indictments.  I say this, just by looking at the redacted sections and the layout of the memorandum.  You will notice there are three sections redacted in such a way that it appears that Flynn’s cooperation may have allowed the investigation to go after possibly two or three additional prosecutions.  That would obviously allow Mueller’s team to recommend that there be no prison time for Michael Flynn.

Flynn was the nearly forgotten cooperator. He pleaded guilty early in Mueller’s investigation, and he was the first major Trump administration official to agree to cooperate with the prosecution. But, after his guilty plea, we heard little about him. The public’s attention turned to events such as the trial and guilty plea of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, as well as the guilty pleas made by Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer. 

One other item that took the attention away from the special counsel’s Michael Flynn investigation was the arrest of the Russian, Maria Butina, who was the founder of the pro-gun Russian advocacy group Right to Bear Arms.  (This is a strange situation as Russian citizens are not allowed to own firearms….?)  Butina was arrested and accused of operating under the direction of a high-level official who worked for the Russian Central Bank.  The court records did not name the bank official.  However, Butina has appeared in numerous photographs on her Facebook page with Alexander Torshin, the deputy head of Russia’s Central Bank who was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department last April.

Ms. Butina has not been allowed any bail as the Treasury Dept. is fearful of her potential flight to return to Russia.  She has been implicated as an alleged Kremlin agent that had infiltrated the NRA and she had obtained classified information by providing sexual favors.

…The alleged Kremlin agent, Maria Butina

But the documents filed on Tuesday reveal that Flynn has been very busy behind the scenes. Prosecutors told the court that he participated in 19, multi-hour interviews with the special counsel’s office.  In addition, he met with lawyers from other Justice Department offices, and he provided them documents and communications.  He likely also testified before one or more grand juries, though that description of his cooperation was of course redacted.

Mueller informed the court that Flynn provided “substantial assistance” to criminal investigations, a term that prosecutors use when they agree a defendant should receive sentencing credit for his cooperation.  Flynn faced a serious prison term even before his cooperation; prosecutors said that, based on his assistance, a sentence that included no jail time would be appropriate.  Flynn’s cooperation probably also took his son, Mike Flynn Jr., Flynn’s, Chief-of-Staff, off of the investigators list for possible prosecution.

Flynn’s issue was that he had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the then-Russian ambassador during the presidential transition.

Those conversations are relevant to the central issue in Mueller’s inquiry, which is a potential conspiracy involving Russian officials and members of the Trump campaign.

For example, prosecutors are likely exploring whether there was a quid-pro-quo arrangement where Trump officials agreed to ease sanctions against Russia, or to take other favorable actions in exchange for Moscow’s help during the presidential election.  In addition, did Moscow help with Trump’s business dealings in Russia? The Mueller memo seems to confirm that Flynn has now told prosecutors whatever he knows about interactions between the Trump team and Russia.

But the redacted portions of the sentencing documents suggest there are at least two, possibly three other investigations in which Flynn has cooperated. One has a separate (redacted) heading in the memo; that, plus the reference to assisting prosecutors from other Justice Department offices.  This suggests the former national security adviser is cooperating in a criminal investigation being handled outside of Mueller’s operation.

This could be just another Trump-related investigation spun off from Mueller’s inquiry, such as the one going on in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York that led to the first guilty plea from Michael Cohen. Or it could be something else entirely.  One that we just don’t yet know about.

A second heavily-redacted portion of the memo appears to refer to Flynn’s cooperation in an area of the special counsel’s investigation other than interactions between Trump officials and Russians.

The press can’t be certain, but it seems likely this refers to Mueller’s investigation of possible obstruction of justice by President Trump.

Flynn was at the center of much of that alleged obstruction when the former FBI director James Comey reported that Trump asked him to back off on the investigation of Flynn.  This was after it became apparent that he had lied to the FBI about his actions on behalf of the president.  It makes sense that Flynn most likely had information relevant to the obstruction investigation that he could share with the special counsel’s office.

But what is surprisingly striking by this filing, is the total of how much we still don’t know about what Mueller has actually discovered.

Flynn’s cooperation was obviously extensive.  Information about the majority of his help is still under seal. We recently learned that Cohen has met with prosecutors for about 70 hours, while former White House counsel Donald McGahn reportedly spoke to prosecutors for 30 hours.

Former Trump deputy campaign manager Rick Gates recently had his sentencing postponed because he, too, continues to cooperate in several ongoing investigations.

Mueller has gathered a lot of from members of the president’s inner circle.  But we have yet to see all of the fruits of most of this cooperation.

Those who thought Mueller might be close to wrapping up his investigation may need to think again.  Recent developments demonstrate that prosecutors, both in the special counsel’s office and elsewhere, are still actively pursuing a number of investigations that have yet to be fully revealed.

There are likely a number of potentially very large shoes, possibly some of those in the White House, still to drop.

Copyright G. Ater 2018