In a filing attached to his sentencing memorandum, made public late Thursday, federal prosecutors said Michael Flynn “informed the government of multiple instances ... where either he or his attorneys received communications from persons connected to the Administration or Congress that could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation.” Flynn, a former national security advisor, not only told investigators about these communications but also provided the special counsel’s office with a voicemail of one instance. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to federal investigators about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador. Former national security advisor Michael Flynn provided special counsel Robert Mueller with information about possible efforts to interfere or obstruct his investigation, according to documents made public late Thursday. In a filing attached to his sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors said Flynn “informed the government of multiple instances, both before and after his guilty plea, where either he or his attorneys received communications from persons connected to the Administration or Congress that could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation.” Flynn, a former national security advisor, not only told investigators about these communications but also provided the special counsel’s office with a voicemail of one instance. Prosecutors said in their filing that they were not aware of some of these attempts until Flynn informed them. A federal judge has ordered prosecutors to file transcripts of the voicemail as well as transcripts of any other recordings of Flynn, including his conversations with Russian officials. Judge Emmet Sullivan said they have until May 31 to file the transcripts, and also requested the actual audio recordings. It appears that the Mueller report did contain a transcript of a recording Flynn provided to special counsel investigators. In the special counsel report, investigators said shortly after Flynn agreed to cooperate, he withdrew from a joint defense agreement he had with the president. Flynn’s lawyer told Trump’s personal lawyer that the former national security advisor would no longer be able to have confidential communications with the president. The president’s lawyer then left a voicemail for Flynn’s counsel which said: “I understand your situation, but let me see if I can’t state it in starker terms. ... t wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve gone on to make a deal with ... the government. ... f ... there’s information that implicates the President, then we’ve got a national security issue, ... so, you know, ... we need some kind of heads up. Um, just for the sake of protecting all our interests if we can .... [R]emember what we’ve always said about the ′ President and his feelings toward Flynn and, that still remains ....” Mueller’s office had recommended a light sentence for Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to federal investigators about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador. Investigators said Flynn’s cooperation was “particularly valuable because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight regarding events and issues under investigation by the [special counsel’s office].” They also said Flynn’s assistance was useful because of its timeliness, as he “began providing information not long after the government first sought his cooperation.” https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/16/mic...-about-attempts-to-obstruct-russia-probe.html
Conrad Black blasts prosecutors, FBI in first US interview since pardon from Trump By Bradford Betz | Fox News The U.S. is a wonderful country, but there’s a real problem with its justice system, former media mogul Conrad Black said Thursday. Black spoke to Fox News' Laura Ingraham, host of "The Ingraham Angle," in his first American interview since receiving a full pardon from President Trump on Wednesday. In 2007, Black was convicted of defrauding investors and obstructing justice. The Supreme Court ultimately struck down several of the convictions and his prison sentence was reduced to 42 months. After his release in 2012, Black, 74, a native of Canada, was forced to leave the U.S. He now lives in Britain. Black, who is also a historian and author, has lavished praise on Trump in countless columns and a political biography titled “Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other,” which came out a year ago. Multiple media outlets were quick to attribute Black’s pardon to his flattery of the president, but Black dismissed those comments. “I have absolutely no reason to believe the president is even aware that I wrote that book,” Black told Ingraham. “He certainly has never mentioned it. And in any case, anyone who has read it can see that it is not uncritical.” Trump’s likely motivation was that Black had received an “unjust verdict,” and should have never been charged, Black said. The prosecutor who had Black in his sights was Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney in Chicago, who is now representing former FBI Director James Comey. Black said that the prosecutors, including the FBI, offered “absolute untruths every day. There was never any sanction for it.” “Any jurisdiction besides the United States would bar most of these prosecutors. It was absolutely outrageous what they did,” Black said. Black said when prosecutors target somebody, they "round up everybody near them," and force the accused to "jog" their memory, lest they be accused of perjury. "If you can jog your memory successfully and help," Black said, "then you’ll have immunity from perjury and carry on. That’s how you get a 98 percent conviction rate – a North Korean rate of conviction. It’s a wonderful country, but there’s a real problem in the justice system.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
