It's been a dramatic and intriguing two days in Washington, with former national security adviser #Michael Flynn offering an interview to House and Senate investigative teams in exchange for immunity. Sounds like a cold war spy novel – and not contemporary US politics. The Washington Post broke the story on Tuesday, and there has been a flurry of interest in the developing Trump-Russia narrative.
The Senate investigators are carefully probing and scrutinizing Team Trump's potentially complicated campaign ties to the ex-Cold War country #Russia.
Flynn, in politely asking for Immunity From Prosecution in the courts, has made many people very, very suspicious. He tasked his lawyer to pronounce the request and, investigators and White House officials are now busy dealing with the mounting tension as Trump deals with the potential political fall out.
According to a senior congressional official involved in the business, those investigating the issue were not willing to forge a deal with the seemingly shadowy Flynn, who has caused much wariness since he was fired last month. He was asked to step down for deceiving a coterie of #White House officials in regards to his seemingly complicated Russian associates and the contact made with them, specifically the intriguing Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, who has become somewhat a person of interest in the developing Trump-Russia narrative.
The congressional officials claim that until they know more information, investigators won't know whether they will be brokering a deal with him or not.
Witch hunt or cold war spy thriller?
On Thursday evening, Flynn’s no doubt hardworking lawyer affirmed that discussions had taken place between his client and the House and Senate intelligence committees.
They discussed a potential testimony by #Flynn but the lawyer, who is called Robert Kelner, did not illuminate or elucidate the terms surrounding how Flynn might testify. Kelner voiced that nobody with a reasonable nature, and with legal counsel, “would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, #witch-hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution.”
The lawyer continued, saying that Flynn absolutely has a story to tell and that he wants to tell it, “should circumstances permit," which is legal speak for 'we will talk if you grant us what we are requesting', which in this case is #immunity from prosecution.
The #Federal Bureau of Investigation is also hard at work scrutinizing whether anybody in Team Trump, or within his wider range of associates, conspired with the Russian government in a quest to change and dislocate the 2016 US presidential election cycle. If Flynn does gain an immunity deal from the House and Senate, then it will be cumbersome and exceedingly difficult for the #Justice Department to prosecute him.
There has been no indication whether any other #Trump associates have requested immunity from the congressional investigations, but if they do there will be further speculation in the media that the Russian investigations aren't merely a witch hunt or a spy thriller but potentially real event.
