"Catfish" Mueller Has Enough Evidence to Bring Charges in Flynn Investigation

[Vegetarian - Lousy Hunter]

Time for Trump to assign a special prosecutor to look into
Mueller's actions during the Clinton / Obama uranium sale to
Russia. Talk about nuclear weapons laundering.

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have gathered enough evidence
to bring charges in their investigation of President Donald
Trump's former national security adviser and his son as part of
the probe into Russia's intervention in the 2016 election,
according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation.

Michael T. Flynn, who was fired after just 24 days on the job,
was one of the first Trump associates to come under scrutiny in
the federal probe now led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into
possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

Mueller is applying renewed pressure on Flynn following his
indictment of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, three
sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.

The investigators are speaking to multiple witnesses in coming
days to gain more information surrounding Flynn's lobbying work,
including whether he laundered money or lied to federal agents
about his overseas contacts, according to three sources familiar
with the investigation.

Mueller's team is also examining whether Flynn attempted to
orchestrate the removal of a chief rival of Turkish President
Recep Erdogan from the U.S. to Turkey in exchange for millions
of dollars, two officials said.

A spokesperson for the special counsel had no comment.

Flynn's son, Michael G. Flynn, who worked closely with his
father, accompanied him during the campaign and briefly worked
on the presidential transition, could be indicted separately or
at the same time as his father, according to three sources
familiar with the investigation.

If the elder Flynn is willing to cooperate with investigators in
order to help his son, two of the sources said, it could also
change his own fate, potentially limiting any legal consequences.

The pressure on Flynn is the latest signal that Mueller is
moving at a rapid and steady pace in his investigation. Last
week, investigators unsealed indictments of Manafort and
Manafort's business partner Rick Gates. They pleaded not guilty.

Investigators also revealed Monday that former Trump campaign
adviser George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to
federal officials and had been cooperating with Mueller's
investigation.

If the senior Flynn is charged, he would be the first current or
former Trump administration official formally accused of
criminal wrongdoing by the Mueller team.

So far, the probe has only ensnared campaign officials, and the
White House has argued that the connection to the president is
minimal. An indictment of the president's former national
security adviser and his son would scramble that dynamic.

Related: Flynn, Manafort Are Key Figures in Mueller's Russia
Probe

A former senior law enforcement official said that in the weeks
after Trump's inauguration the FBI was asked to conduct a new
review of Turkey's 2016 request to extradite Fethullah Gulen, an
elderly Muslim cleric living in the U.S. whom President Erdogan
blames for orchestrating a coup to overthrow him.

The FBI pushed back on the request because Turkey had supplied
no additional information that could incriminate Gulen following
a review of the case during the Obama administration, the
official said. It is unclear whether the request to investigate
Gulen came from Flynn or through the typical diplomatic channels
at the State Department.

The FBI is also investigating former CIA Director Jim Woolsey's
account to The Wall Street Journal — which he confirmed to MSNBC
— that Flynn and Turkish officials discussed a potential plan to
forcibly remove Gulen from the country in September 2016,
according to sources close to Woolsey, who say the former
director has spoken to FBI agents working for Mueller about the
matter.

Flynn was fired in February following public revelations that he
had lied to Vice President Pence about his dealings with the
Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

Flynn's lawyer, Robert Kelner, declined to comment.

The younger Flynn's lawyer, Barry Coburn, declined to comment.

Father and Son
Both Flynns have for months been subjects of the Mueller
investigation.

The elder Flynn, an Army lieutenant general, was pushed out as
head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 and retired from
the military. He then founded a lobbying firm, Flynn Intel
Group, where his son worked closely with him. The younger Flynn
was involved in the daily operations of his father's firm and
functioned as his chief of staff. He often attended meetings
with his father and would communicate with prospective clients.

The elder Flynn was paid $530,000 last year for work the Justice
Department says benefited the government of Turkey. The elder
Flynn did not register as a foreign lobbyist at the time, but
did so retroactively this year. The issue has been part of
Mueller's probe.

His lawyer later said Flynn didn't need to register because his
client was a Turkish businessman and not a government official,
but had opted to do so retroactively.

According to Flynn's Justice Department filing, the Flynn Intel
Group was hired to gather information about Gulen, and to
produce a short film about its findings.

During the contract, which ended the day after Trump won the
election, Flynn had at least one meeting, in September 2016,
with Turkish officials, according to officials. Woolsey says
that it included a discussion about kidnapping Gulen and flying
him to Turkey.

Flynn also was paid some $35,000 in 2015 by Russian state
television for a speech in Moscow at a gala where he sat next to
Russian President Vladimir Putin. The younger Flynn accompanied
him on that trip. The trip raised concerns among federal
officials.

NBC News has reported that others under scrutiny by Mueller
include Carter Page, a Trump campaign ally; Jared Kushner, the
president's son-in-law and senior White House adviser; and the
president's son, Donald Trump Jr. They have denied any collusion
with Russia.

President Trump has denied any collusion with Russia during the
campaign and has called the investigation a politically
motivated witch hunt.

Kelner has declined to comment when asked if Flynn denies
colluding with the Russian election interference effort.

Turkey has long demanded the U.S. extradite Gulen, saying he is
considered a terrorist. Erdogan forcefully renewed that request
after the attempted coup against him in July 2016. U.S.
officials have said the Justice Department has not found
sufficient evidence linking Gulen to the coup attempt despite
the boxes of documents Turkey has submitted to the U.S. that
Ankara says back up its claim.

Extradition requests are processed through the U.S. justice
system and are not determined by the White House or other
agencies.

Any quid-pro-quo deal such as the alleged agreement between
Flynn and Turkey would be illegal, officials said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mueller-has-enough-evidence-
bring-charges-flynn-investigation-n817666