Washington, Nov 26: US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order granting pardon to his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who had been charged with making false statements to the FBI over possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential polls. Trump signed the executive order on Wednesday.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to Gen Flynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!” Trump said in a tweet.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, “The President has pardoned General Flynn because he should never have been prosecuted. An independent review of General Flynn’s case by the Department of Justice — conducted by respected career professionals — supports this conclusion.” In fact, the Department of Justice has firmly concluded that the charges against Flynn should be dropped, she said.
“This Full Pardon achieves that objective, finally bringing to an end the relentless, partisan pursuit of an innocent man,” she said.
“General Flynn should not require a pardon. He is an innocent man. Even the FBI agents who interviewed General Flynn did not think he was lying. “Multiple investigations have produced evidence establishing that General Flynn was the victim of partisan government officials engaged in a coordinated attempt to subvert the election of 2016,” McEnany said.
These individuals sought to prevent Donald Trump from being elected to the Presidency, to block him from assuming that office upon his election, to remove him from office after his inauguration, and to undermine his administration at every turn, she said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement said Trump’s pardoning of Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his dealings with a foreign adversary, is an act of grave corruption and brazen abuse of power. (PTI)
