On Friday, transcripts of phone conversations that took place in December 2016 between then-national security adviser General Michael Flynn and then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were released.
The transcripts were transmitted to Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. Johnson and Grassley later released the documents publicly.
From The Federalist:
Flynn was charged by Mueller in 2017 with making false statements to federal officials about conversations he had with Kislyak on December 22 and December 29, 2017. According to the charging documents from Mueller, Flynn allegedly falsely claimed to Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agents that he did not ask Kislyak to “refrain from escalating” in response to U.S. expulsion of Russian diplomats and falsely claimed that he did not ask Kislyak to help defeat an anti-Israel resolution pending before the United Nations at the time. Mueller also claimed that Flynn lied when he said he didn’t remember Kislyak telling him that Russia would “moderate its response” to the expulsions.
The transcript of the December 29 conversation, which was cited by Mueller, does not include a request from Flynn that Russia “refrain from escalating” in response to U.S. expulsions of Russian diplomats. According to the transcript, Flynn asked Kislyak for Russia’s response to be “reciprocal” so that the U.S.–not Russia–would not be forced to escalate beyond the expulsions. The transcript makes clear that Flynn fully expected Russia to respond to the situation by expelling U.S. diplomats in response to the Obama administration’s move to expel nearly three dozen Russian diplomats from the U.S., and that his primary concern was preventing a situation where the U.S. would have to escalate tensions in response to Russia.
“Make it reciprocal,” Flynn reportedly said. “[D]on’t go any further than you have to. Because I don’t want us to get into something that has to escalate, on a, you know, on a tit for tat.” Continued Below
“I really don’t want us to get into a situation where we’re going, you know, where we do this and then you do something bigger, and then you know, everybody’s got to go back and forth and everybody’s got to be the tough guy here, you know?” Flynn continued. “We need cool heads to prevail, and uh, we need to be very steady about what we’re going to do because we have absolutely a common uh, threat in the Middle East right now.”
“We agree,” Kislyak responded.
Later in the conversation, Flynn again used the word “escalate” in reference not to a potential Russian response, but to what he hoped the United States would not have to do in response to Russian actions. “If you have to do something, do something on a reciprocal basis,” Flynn said. “And, and then, we know that we’re not going to escalate this thing[.]” Continued Below
Michael Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell released a statement on Twitter Friday upon the release of the transcripts with the Russian ambassador. Her statement is as follows:
“#TeamFlynn statement: The transcripts of General Flynn’s calls with Ambassador Kislyak released today by Senator Grassley prove there was no conceivable “Logan Act” violation—nothing wrong at all with General Flynn’s conversations with the Ambassador.
In fact, General Flynn should be applauded for asking for “cooler heads to prevail” and trying to keep things on “an even keel”—encouraging the mutual interest of Russia and the United States in stability in the Middle East and fighting radical Islam.
The conduct of the FBI, certain members of the DOJ, the Special Counsel Operation, and those in the House, Senate and elsewhere who have obstructed the release of the truth have all obstructed justice and put this man, his family, and the entire country through three years of hell—for their LIES and deceit. There are no words sufficient to convey our disgust and disdain for all those responsible in any way for this baseless and purely evil persecution.” Continued Below
Read the full Flynn Kislyak transcript:
Sidney Powell’s official statement:
2/ should be applauded for asking for “cooler heads to prevail” and trying to keep things on “an even keel”—encouraging the mutual interest of Russia and the United States in stability in the Middle East and fighting radical Islam. The conduct of the FBI, certain members of the pic.twitter.com/JU2X3Hpjfb
— Sidney Powell 🇺🇸⭐⭐⭐ (@SidneyPowell1) May 29, 2020
4/ There are no words sufficient to convey our disgust and disdain for all those responsible in any way for this baseless and purely evil persecution. @GenFlynn @realDonaldTrump #RushLimbaugh @seanhannity @marklevinshow @LouDobbs @Techno_Fog @molmccann @jbinnall pic.twitter.com/nEvZ8uWtpS
— Sidney Powell 🇺🇸⭐⭐⭐ (@SidneyPowell1) May 29, 2020
