President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would be issuing a full pardon to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn — and Democrats went into full panic mode.
Among those to melt down over Trump’s decision to pardon the former Army general was House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), who said the move “reflects so ill” on the nation, The Washington Times reported.
“It just, frankly, reflects so ill on our democracy, on the United States,” Schiff said in an interview with CNN, according to the Times. “Imagine what people around the world think when we have a president that’s acting like an organized crime figure.”
“A pardon from the president”
According to the Times, Schiff said Wednesday that the move should have been expected from President Trump. “This is who Donald Trump is,” he said. “It’s who he was on the way into the presidency. It will be exactly who he is on his last days of the presidency.”
Still, Schiff wasn’t the only Democrat to speak out against the move. House Judiciary panel Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) aired similar complaints.
“President Trump dangled this pardon to encourage Flynn to backtrack on his pledge to cooperate with federal investigators — cooperation that might have exposed the President’s own wrongdoing,” Nadler said Wednesday, according to Fox News.
He went on: “And it worked. Flynn broke his deal, recanted his plea, received the backing of the Attorney General over the objections of career prosecutors, and now has secured a pardon from the President of the United States.”
A gift for Thanksgiving
Schiff and Nadler’s comments came following a tweet from Trump announcing that he’d cleared Flynn of any and all charges related to lying to the FBI.
It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2020
Flynn had pleaded guilty to making misleading statements to the FBI regarding a conversation he had with Russia’s ambassador following the 2016 election, Fox News noted. He later tried to walk back that plea, however, and questions were raised about whether he should have been charged in the first place when FBI documents were released earlier this year that made it seem as though the agency was trying to trap the former National Security adviser.
According to Fox, one note read: “What is our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?”
Whether Schiff and Nadler like it or not, it seems Flynn can now finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The post Schiff blasts Trump over Flynn pardon: 'Imagine what people around the world think' first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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