President Donald Trump announced last week that he he had pardoned former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Unsurprisingly, House Speaker and Trump opponent Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) condemned the decision.
“President Trump’s pardoning of Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his dealings with a foreign adversary, is an act of grave corruption and a brazen abuse of power,” Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday, the Washington Examiner reported.
She continued, “Trump is again using the pardon power to protect those who lie to cover up his wrongdoing, just as he did when he commuted the sentence of campaign advisor Roger Stone, who was convicted on seven felony counts.”
The president commuted Stone’s 40 month federal sentence for obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress earlier this year. Following Stone’s conviction, Fox News reported that his jury forewoman was a partisan Democrat who regularly made anti-Trump posts on social media.
“Undermine the rule of law”
In her statement, Pelosi characterized Flynn’s conduct as being a “dangerous breach of our national security,” saying it was something that the retired general “must be held accountable” for.
“Yet Trump and his team continue to put the president over country, as they politicize justice to shield Flynn and Trump from the law,” the speaker complained.
“Sadly, this pardon is further proof that Trump plans to use his final days in office to undermine the rule of law in the wake of his failed presidency,” she added.
Pelosi wants pardon info
The House speaker has thrown her support behind the Protecting Our Democracy Act, a piece of proposed legislation that would compel the Department of Justice and White House to provide Congress with information about pardons that it deems questionable.
Flynn initially pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador following Trump’s win in 2016.
However, he later attempted to retract his plea, with Fox News reporting that notes from Flynn’s interrogation suggest that agents sought to trap Flynn in a lie.
Trump broke the news of Flynn’s pardon with a tweet in which he also wished the former general and his family a happy Thanksgiving.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon,” he tweeted. “Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!”
The post Pelosi calls Flynn pardon 'an act of grave corruption' and 'brazen abuse of power' first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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