Did We Already Forget About Michael Flynn?
As I woke up on Valentine’s Day it was only right that I heard some astonishing news about the most polarizing topic (politics) on the most polarizing day of the year (Valentine's Day). Shockingly this news was polarizing, who’da figured that? This of course was the news that Michael Flynn, Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor had resigned due to the fact he failed to disclose that he discussed sanctions with Russian representatives prior to Trump’s inauguration. Presently, there’s quite the shitstorm of people arguing (again, who’da figured that). Some say that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the ties that the administration has to Russia while the other side is saying that it was an honest mistake and that the FBI and intelligence agencies might be overstepping their duties. Now full disclosure, I had no idea who Michael Flynn was before I wrote this but I’m hoping to get a better picture and understanding as this story develops. So let us unpack the Trump scandal of week, what is it... four? IT’S ONLY BEEN FOUR WEEKS!!!! Oh wow... time flies when you’re having fun right? Or it creeps to a halt when you’re watching your country unravel.
So let’s first look at what we know (for the most part) happened. Michael Flynn who was a ardent supporter of Trump early into his campaign was slated as Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor (and at one point VP). During the transition between the Obama and Trump administration Flynn was reported to have been in contact with the Russian ambassador, a fact he didn’t deny. When he spoke to VP Mike Pence he said that they merely exchanged pleasantries (what a boujee/white thing to say). When asked about what his national security advisor was discussing with the Russian ambassador, Mike Pence defended Flynn saying nothing of importance was talked about. Fast-forward to last Monday, apparently “pleasantries” weren’t the only thing discussed, that is unless you consider the sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration pleasant. Sooooo basically he was fired for making everybody look like idiots covering for him. Seems pretty straightforward, right? WRONG! Over the past week multiple story lines have cropped up on both sides of the political spectrum, some going as far as “the Kremlin owns the White House,” or “the shadow government is at war with Trump as he tries to ‘drain the swamp,’” (this doesn’t look any less swampy than the last eight years, if I’m being honest).
As there are two sides to every story there seems to be two sides to this country, so let’s look at those on the Right and their thoughts. Some on the Right are looking at this and saying, “yes, there was a breach of protocol and he should have resigned.” I think everybody can agree on that. Where the differences seem to be is what this might mean and what are the next questions we should be asking. The next questions the right seems to be asking is, “how did this get leaked to the media,” and “what role should the FBI play in monitoring our own government?” I see the point here, how much power should we give the FBI or any organization in the intel community to monitor the other branches of government? And how much authority does the intel community have until they become a power unto themselves. I also agree that a leak is concerning, whistleblowers are never heroes at the time, only in retrospect so that is understandable as well. But for this publication, and others, to frame their argument with those two questions as the most crucial issues is kind of ridiculous. How is the possibility of Russia having political leverage over your national security advisor not number one on the list of shit to be concerned about?
In the days following the resignation the Right has been fairly quiet on addressing the Russian link and are seemingly opposed to an independent investigation of this situation. Saying that it was nothing more that a breach of trust, not disclosing the entirety of the conversation to Pence, and that we should move onto more important things. I do see the argument that there is political motivation behind a pursuit of an investigation because obviously, but to say all the loose ends are tied is foolish.
Most other sources have corroborated the same facts, that Flynn discussed trade sanctions with the Russian Ambassador and lied to Pence about it, but “mainstream” media reaches a different conclusion than many of those leaning to the right. Most seem to conclude that there should be an investigation into the relationship between Flynn (by proxy this administration) and the relationship with Russia. The possibility that Russia could have generated significant leverage over a top official (the leverage being that he withheld information from the administration) creating a yuge security issue had his service continued. Had Flynn been allowed to stay on and this had not come to light, this could have compounded into something McCarthy himself wouldn’t of believed.
What a lot of people have begun to wonder is A) Why did they sit on this information for almost a week before acting? and B) Why are we not supremely concerned about Russia? I do agree with those on the Right that the Russian involvement in our election has been massively overblown. They didn’t tamper with actual votes they tried to impact public opinion with strategic information dumps which is still shitty but hey, it’s Russia! They’ve been trying to undermine our democracy for literally ever and most people in the intelligence community recognize this. That being said I don’t see how you can justify the apparent lack of concern for the connection to Russia. Not only was Michael Flynn discussing the sanctions but he had previously mentioned a strong desire to ally with Russia and gave a lecture in 2015 about leadership in the military to the Russian intelligence community invited personally by the Kremlin which raised some eyebrows, to put it mildly. At the time people questioned the reasoning behind his visit and the procedure by which he accepted Russia’s offer. Many gave him the benefit of the doubt due to his decorated military service but there was significant concerns even then. I know this connection has been conflated to dizzying levels but how the facts alone don’t creep you out is baffling.
Just a reminder, Russia is not our friend and I’m quite surprised that people who lived through the Cold War and McCarthyism are insisting the public not worry about this. With Trump’s affinity for Putin’s leadership style, Rex Tillerson’s history of business dealings regarding Russian oil, the reports of his campaign staff being in communication with Russian intelligence agents, and Flynn’s flub, where is the concern from the Right?
With all that being said, what now? What do we do? Congress probably won’t investigate. Trump will do something ridiculous and direct our attention away from the links to Russia. We were conveniently too busy to watch as Scott Pruitt, someone who has sued the EPA countless times, was just approved as it’s head. It’s only been four weeks since Trump was sworn in and things just keep getting weirder and weirder.
Hopefully this commentary on the “scandal of the week” was entertaining. I still have more questions than conclusions, but here are some that I can say rather confidently.
I don’t think Flynn was a Russian plant sent over to destroy our government from the inside out. He has a decorated and earned military service that, by all accounts, should have made him a great national security advisor. It does seem however, that he had an inappropriate level of communication with a hostile power, leaving him susceptible to future political leverage. He should have resigned. Could the intelligence community be overstepping their bounds here? It’s possible. There is concern at where the line is between gathering important information and actively working to undermine an administration. But stumbling upon phone conversations while monitoring a hostile power, as this seems to be, doesn’t fall under the “witch-hunt” category for me. There should be concern at their powers but in this situation, I personally don’t agree with that point. I do think that there are an unsettling number of links between this administration and Russia. There has to be some level of curiosity in knowing what is really going on and if these reports are of any substance. That’s really it. I think there should be an investigation but all these people screaming “impeach” are getting ahead of themselves.
Once again, what now? What can we do? This has been a fucked up couple of weeks and I’m sitting here as confused as ever. But what else is new...
*I realize there are significant issues that Flynn could have posed after looking into his erratic behavior prior to his appointment. Looking at the New Yorker article below there were serious personality flaws that were present in Flynn that should have probably removed him from consideration before all this. Another factor increasing concern includes his son who was involved heavily in the conspiracy theory community that has questionable (at best) rhetoric involving everything from race, to government, to religion. I merely was commenting on the situation involving his resignation. Though I do think its funny how someone who led a "lock her up" chant and mentioned how if he did one-eighth of what Hillary did he'd be in jail is now facing a more substantial link to treason than she ever did. I couldn't find a good way to fit that nugget in the article but i wanted to put it here incase you're still reading or whatever...
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/flynn-trump-nsa-resign-234985
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/michael-flynn-general-chaos