Devin Nunes Complains DOJ Is Prosecuting Michael Flynn Even Though He Pleaded Guilty

January 13th 2020

By Melanie Schmitz

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is upset that Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn, might face jail time for admittedly lying to the FBI.

Nunes was interviewed Thursday evening by Fox News host Sean Hannity and was asked whether the Justice Department was being tougher on people like Flynn than on those who investigated Trump’s ties to Russia.

After repeating conspiracy theories about the Russia investigation, Nunes said he could not understand why the department had not dropped its case against Flynn.

“I will say we just don’t know at this point what is going to happen to General Flynn,” the former House Intelligence chair lamented, saying he did not know whether Flynn could legally change his previous guilty plea at this point, more than two years after the fact.

“I just don’t know why the Department of Justice would go back now after all of this,” Nunes continued, apparently referencing federal prosecutors’ decision this week to recommend up to six months of prison time for Flynn. “… They could just drop this case.”

The DOJ previously said it was open to probation after Flynn admitted in 2017 to lying to investigators. But in a 33-page memo this week, the department said he had stopped cooperating and had since “sought to blame almost every other person and entity involved in his case, including his former counsel.”

The memo also claimed Flynn “now professes his innocence.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who chairs the Intelligence subcommittee on modernization and readiness, offered a succinct response to Nunes’ comments Thursday night.

“Well, for starters: because he pleaded guilty,” Swalwell tweeted, answering Nunes’ earlier question.

Nunes previously served as Intelligence chair for the first two years of the Trump administration and was tasked with oversight responsibilities. However, he spent most of his tenure defending Trump and pushing conspiracy claims about his opponents.

Nunes also reportedly had a close relationship with Flynn and has been been accused of pushing the disgraced general to “advance conspiracy theories” as well.

Last year, it was reported that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team and federal prosecutors in New York were looking into a January 2017 meeting involving Nunes, Flynn, and several foreign officials at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Nunes was not charged with wrongdoing in the now-completed probe.

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