Michael Flynn’s Guilty Plea: 10 Key Takeaways
Mr. Flynn will not receive credit for his cooperation until after it has ended, at which point Mr.
Mueller may — if Mr. Flynn has held up his end of the bargain — move to dismiss the other charges.
Unlike Mr. Papadopoulos, though, Mr. Flynn was a top adviser who was at the center of communication with Russia as well
as the potential obstruction of justice by President Trump in seeking to shut down the Flynn investigation itself.
Mr. Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, has been indicted,
but this is a plea, and Mr. Flynn’s cooperation — the real goal of bringing criminal charges — has been secured.
If Mr. Flynn testifies to this — ABC’s Brian Ross is reporting
that he will — it presents another impeachable offense along with the possible obstruction of justice.
Russia reportedly agreed and Mr. Kislyak told Mr. Flynn later
that it had chosen to moderate its response to the sanctions to make nice with the Trump team.
Rather, as we’ve known for weeks, the special counsel, Robert Mueller, believed he had sufficient evidence to indict
Mr. Flynn on a long list of criminal charges, including money laundering, tax offense and false statements.
Mr. Flynn, a former national security adviser, acknowledged that he was cooperating with the investigation.