Former national security advisor Flynn pleads guilty, confirms cooperation with special counsel

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who briefly served as President Trump’s national security advisor, is scheduled to plead guilty Friday morning to making false statements about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.

The plea deal was announced by special counsel Robert A. Mueller III, who has been investigating whether members of Trump’s team had aided Russian interference in last year’s presidential election. Mueller’s prosecutors have been investigating a wide range of potential charges against Flynn amid recent signs that the former Trump advisor was now cooperating with investigators.

A federal court hearing is scheduled for this morning.

According to the plea deal, Flynn lied to FBI agents about whether he asked the Russian government in December 2016 to hold off on retaliating against sanctions imposed by then-President Obama for trying to interfere with the campaign. He also lied about how the Russian government had agreed to “moderate its response.”

Flynn lost his job as national security advisor in February, only 24 days after Trump’s inauguration, after the Washington Post revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.