May 31st, 2019: More Flynn Bombs Dropping
There are some potentially big pieces of news pertaining to Michael Flynn dropping on Friday, 5/31/19. They are: the unredacted portions of the Mueller report that relate to Flynn, and transcripts of audio recordings of Flynn that the government has in its posession. [Please remember I’m not an attorney- this is based on my parsing of the language in the order.]
On May 16, 2019, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued an order for information to be released to the public by 5/31/19.
Here’s the language from the PACER docket report from the hearing on 5/16/19:
“The government is hereby ORDERED to file on the public docket in this case the transcript of the “voicemail recording” referenced in the 75 Addendum to Government’s Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing and the transcripts of any other audio recordings of Mr. Flynn, including, but not limited to, audio recordings of Mr. Flynn’s conversations with Russian officials, by no later than May 31, 2019. It is FURTHER ORDERED that the government shall submit to Chambers audio versions of the recordings on a DVD by no later than May 31, 2019.
The government is FURTHER ORDERED to file on the public docket in this case by no later than May 31, 2019 an unredacted version of those portions of the report that relate to Mr. Flynn. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 5/16/2019. (lcegs3) (Entered: 05/16/2019)”
Timelines matter:
The initial indictment of Rafiekian (Bijan Kian) and Alptekin was filed 12/12/18.
Six days later, on 12/18/18, the judge basically told Flynn he had effectively committed treason vs the United States, and had better do more cooperating:
From the Washington Post:
“ Early in the hearing, Sullivan forced Flynn to admit publicly that he knew lying to the bureau was illegal and that he was guilty of a crime. Later, the judge pointed to an American flag in his D.C. courtroom as he berated the former three-star general for his misdeeds. “Arguably, that undermines everything this flag over here stands for,” the judge said. “Arguably, you sold your country out.” Flynn, standing straight and flanked by attorneys, looked shaken, his jaw clenched.”
On 5/16/19, Judge Sullivan ordered that the UNREDACTED parts of the Mueller report that refer to Flynn **AND** the transcript of the voicemail referred to in the government’s addendum to the sentencing memo (which is referred to in the order as the 75 Addendum, and can be read here, as “Attachment 1”), as well as “the transcripts of any other audio recordings of Mr. Flynn” be RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.
This means that, IF Flynn’s conversations with the Russians were recorded, and I’d expect they would be since it would be TOTALLY LEGAL for the IC to record conversations ***by Russian officials*** provided they had the right warrants, then we are getting those transcripts on Friday. It’s also possible Flynn was dumb enough to record his own conversations, and, if so, then he’d have been compelled to hand those recordings over to the government as part of his plea agreement.
It’s also important to note that Judge Sullivan qualified the order with the language: “including ***but not limited to*** audio recordings of Mr. Flynn’s conversations with Russian officials.” [emphasis mine]
In my reading of this language, that means that if the government has other audio recordings of Flynn (for example, conversations with someone who was being legally wiretapped under a FISA warrant, or conversations recorded by the government perhaps as part of Flynn’s plea deal), then those transcripts would have to be handed over as well.
A little gem from the Washington Post’s story on Judge Sullivan’s order:
“Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and the former deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland told investigators Trump asked them to reach out to Flynn to check on him and tell him to stay strong, according to Mueller’s report.”
Lou question: were those calls recorded?
Also on 5/16/19, the aforementioned 75 Addendum, which the judge referenced in the order, was unsealed. The voicemail the judge referred to in the 5/16/19 order is mentioned in the Addendum:
On 5/23/19, a week after the order from Judge Sullivan, a superseding indictment was filed vs Rafiekian and Alptekin (aka Flynn’s co-conspirators). The only change I found was the addition of specifics as to Flynn’s treason in paragraph 57. The original indictment is available without a paywall, but the superseding indictment is on PACER so there’s a paywall. Flynn is Person A, Flynn Intelligence is Company A, and Company B is Alptekin’s Dutch shell company.
From the original indictment:
From the superseding indictment:
That the only change from initial indictment to superseding indictment was the inclusion of the nature of Flynn, Rafiekian, and Alptekin’s lies about the FARA, is interesting. It lays out in plain language what has already been reported in the press: Flynn and friends were working directly for the Turkish government DURING the election, while Flynn was working to get Trump elected.
There will likely be more interesting stuff coming out from the recordings and unredacted portions of the Mueller report which will be released Friday, May 31, 2019. Maybe at some point we will also get to hear the audio recordings which the judge will be receiving on DVD by Friday.
And here’s a friendly reminder that Rafiekian and Alptekin are connected to a $511M Fuel Tax Credit Fraud case which connects to a fundamentalist Mormon cult in Utah.
Buckle up!
