Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has been charged in the special counsel’s Russia investigation with making false statements to the FBI and is expected to plead guilty at a hearing Friday morning.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office released a one-count charging document ahead of the hearing.
The false statements charge pertains to Flynn’s interactions with the Russian ambassador in late December — specifically discussions about sanctions and other matters he apparently claimed never happened.
According to the document, those false statements were that:
“On or about Dec 29, 2016, FLYNN did not ask the Government of Russia’s Ambassador to the United States … to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day; and FLYNN did not recall the Russian Ambassador subsequently telling him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request.”
“On or about December 22, 2016, FLYNN did not ask the Russian Ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution; and that the Russian Ambassador subsequently never described to FLYNN Russia’s response to his request.”
Flynn is accused of “willfully and knowingly” making the false statements to the FBI while serving in the Trump administration.
Flynn is the fourth person charged in connection with Mueller’s investigation.
Mueller’s team announced charges last month against three other Trump campaign officials: former chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates, and a former foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos.
A Flynn plea deal had been rumored ever since his attorneys informed President Trump’s legal team they could no longer discuss the investigation.
The move prompted speculation Flynn might be cooperating with Mueller’s investigators and discussing a deal.
Flynn, who was interviewed by the FBI just days after Trump’s inauguration, was forced to resign in February after White House officials said he had misled them about whether he had discussed sanctions with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.