Donald Trump’s Holiday News Includes Impeachment Billboard And Possible Michael Flynn Flip

Donald Trump’s holiday news includes news that disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn may have flipped for special counsel Robert Mueller, and also that a billboard promoting a Trump impeachment will be running in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. New York Times reports that on the evening before Thanksgiving, lawyers for Donald Trump received word through Michael Flynn’s lawyers that they would no longer be sharing information on the special counsel’s investigation into the Trump Russia scandal.

It’s a sign that Michael Flynn may have flipped and is turning over state’s evidence against Donald Trump. As Inquisitr previously reported, it could also hint at an upcoming indictment for Michael Flynn.

Rachel Maddow of MSNBC News reported this week that the White House also announced this week that they will be funding the legal defenses of any individuals called as witnesses for Robert Mueller’s investigation. But the White House, and/or Donald Trump, will not be paying for the legal defense fund of “indictees” or “current targets” of the investigation.

It’s a revelation that signals the Trump White House is distancing itself from Michael Flynn, former national security adviser in the Trump Administration with the historically shortest tenure in any White House administration. Michael Flynn was only a member of the Trump cabinet for 24 days.

Also this week, Tom Steyer of California has beefed up his advertorial efforts for a Trump impeachment. Chicago Tribune reported that as the ball drops in New York City in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, a billboard ad will run saying Americans “need to impeach” Donald Trump.

Impeachment talks became part of everyday vernacular for Americans shortly after Michael Flynn was fired by Donald Trump, and picked up steam when former FBI Director James Comey was fired by Trump. That was early 2017.

Now, Michael Flynn is bracing for a legal fight. On the eve of Thanksgiving, lawyers for Michael Flynn reportedly contacted the president’s legal team to say they could no longer discuss or share information in the investigation being run by special prosecutor Robert Mueller.

New York Times reports this could be an indication that Flynn is “cooperating with prosecutors or negotiating a deal.” However, Michael Flynn’s legal troubles extend far beyond not telling the truth about his conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

If all of the allegations against Michael Flynn and his son are accurate, even cooperating with Robert Mueller would only mitigate his potential criminal sentencing or outcome. The allegations against him are many, and are very serious.

Michael Flynn’s son is also reportedly implicated in these allegations, as he served as Michael Flynn’s chief of staff, and “was a part of several financial deals” that Robert Mueller is scrutinizing, reports New York Times.

But these are the least of the Flynn family’s legal troubles. New York Magazine reports that last December, the Flynns allegedly attended a meeting with agents of Turkey. In that meeting an extraordinary rendition of a legal American resident was allegedly arranged for $15 million.

The American Civil Liberties Union defines extraordinary rendition as follows.

“Extraordinary rendition is the practice of kidnapping or capturing people and sending them to countries where they face a high risk of torture or abuse in interrogations.”

It is an act that is illegal not just in the United States, but in violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Michael Flynn is being accused of a $15 million deal that arranged for an American resident, Fethullah Gulen, to be transferred to Turkey for such purposes. On Election Day last year, Michael Flynn published an Op-Ed in the Hill titled, “Our Ally Turkey is in Crisis and Needs Our Support.”

Further, signs are hinting that it is possible Michael Flynn is being investigated in a matter related to something else entirely. An investigation by Jason Leopold of Buzzfeed into the events surrounding Flynn’s dismissal from the Obama Administration has revealed another potential law enforcement investigation into Michael Flynn that dates prior to the Trump Administration.

The Trump Administration is not the first White House Administration that Flynn was fired from. Michael Flynn is a registered Democrat and was hired by President Obama in 2012 and became the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

In 2013, during the course of his tenure at the DIA, Michael Flynn would have been privy to the Pentagon memo that was issued that warned of the harm of a Russian-based software program known as Kaspersky software that was being used by Russia to hijack American networks and data.

Flynn was fired by the Obama Administration in 2014 for reasons that still remain unclear. Documents released by the House Oversight Committee in March of this year reveal that by 2015, Michael Flynn had received funds by Russia’s top cybersecurity firm Kaspersky for a speaking engagement in Russia.

At the time, Michael Flynn still had top-secret-level security clearance, reports Business Insider. Michael Flynn also reportedly accepted $11,250 from the Russian charter airline known as Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

By 2016, President Obama was warning Donald Trump of Michael Flynn, reports the Washington Post. President Obama reportedly warned Trump against hiring him, two days after Flynn’s pro-Turkey column appeared in the Hill. Former Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the following of that warning in a press briefing at the White House.

“President Obama made it known that he wasn’t exactly a fan of General Flynn’s, which frankly shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, given that General Flynn had worked for President Obama and was an outspoken critic of President Obama’s shortcomings.”

But it is unlikely that Flynn’s criticism of President Obama is the reason Trump was warned about Flynn by President Obama. The gap in time between Michael Flynn’s service on the Obama Administration and his service on the Trump Administration reveals he was being paid by Russians for various activities.

Also, Washington Post notes that President Obama’s warning to Trump on Flynn came the same day that former acting attorney general Sally Yates tried to warn the White House about Michael Flynn as well.

The Washington Times reports that the Pentagon knew as early as 2004 of the dangers Kaspersky software posed for America. The software has since been banned in the United States from all government technology.

In 2013, the DIA was reporting on the specific threats from the Kaspersky Lab. Michael Flynn was director at the time. After he was fired from that position he accepted money from the Kaspersky Lab for a speaker fee.

The speaking engagement was for the 2015 Government Cybersecurity Forum held in Washington D.C. Other attendees that spoke at that conference, including Congress member Rep. Michael McCaul, did not receive a speaker’s fee from Kaspersky, reports Business Insider.

Jason Leopold of Buzzfeed has been investigating matters related to the firing of Flynn from the Obama Administration. He is being met with stonewalls from the DIA. He did however recently receive some interesting information that points to further criminal investigations against Flynn that predate his conversations with Sergey Kislyak and his alleged deal of extraordinary renditions of an American resident to Turkey for torture.

In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the DIA, Jason Leopold received a notice in November of this year saying that the materials he requested on Michael Flynn and events surrounding his firing by Obama, could not be provided. The reason cited was that the materials requested “could reasonably be expected to interfere with on-going law enforcement investigative activities.”

This is effed up.

3 YRS AGO (!!), I filed a FOIA request w/DIA for docs on Michael Flynn's job performance, his resignation, etc.

DIA RESPONDED FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY!

DIA says these records on Flynn can't be released b/c it would interfere w/law enforcement proceedings pic.twitter.com/WaTCJwRgx8

— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) November 21, 2017

It is the first sign that actions allegedly assumed by Flynn prior to the Trump Russia scandal are part of his ongoing legal and potentially criminal problems. But Michael Flynn is not alone in this.

CNBC News recently reported that Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak won’t name all of the Trump officials he has met with as “the list is too long.” CNBC News reported that it would take Sergey Kislyak approximately 20 minutes to name them all.

It is this scandal, and its scope that appears to spread across the Trump camp that is the impetus behind millions of Americans calling for Trump’s impeachment. It is a call that picked up steam shortly after the firing of Michael Flynn from the Trump Administration. As new Trump Russia information comes to light every day, the calls gain momentum.

Multiple ongoing petitions and movements are calling to impeach Trump. Additionally, individual citizens are taking action. One such individual is billionaire Tom Steyer of California. He has launched a “Need to Impeach” campaign that is running on many major cable news networks.

Chicago Tribune reports that Steyer has extended his current $10 million Trump impeachment campaign by another $10 million dollars, to extend into the holiday season. Steyer’s current campaign includes an ad that will run in New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve for ten minutes every hour. News on the next stage of Michael Flynn’s career is expected soon.

[Feature Image by Alex Brandon/AP Images]