Michael Flynn transcripts show he discussed sanctions with Russian envoy

Transcripts of phone calls that played a pivotal role in the Russia investigation were declassified and released on Friday, showing that Michael Flynn, as an adviser to the then president-elect, Donald Trump, urged Russia’s ambassador to be “even-keeled” in response to punitive Obama administration measures.

Flynn also assured Sergey Kislyak “we can have a better conversation” about relations between the two countries after Trump became president.

Democrats said the transcripts showed that Flynn lied to the FBI when he denied details of the conversation, and that he was undercutting a sitting president while communicating about sanctions with a country that had just interfered in the 2016 election.

They do show that the men did in fact discuss sanctions, matching the general description of the call provided in the 2017 guilty plea that Flynn reached with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.

Adam Schiff, Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, said in a statement that the transcripts show Flynn lied not only to the FBI but also to Vice-President Mike Pence, who stated publicly that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions. Trump fired Flynn for misleading the administration and later acknowledged he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

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Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/30/michael-flynn-transcripts-russian-ambassador-senate