Flynn’s possible grace would be the President’s latest example if the President uses his extensive power of grace for a high-ranking ally.
To date, Trump’s record for presidential pardons has been characterized by personal connections, showability, and aversion to official government channels.
Beneficiaries were pardoned for receiving their requests to Trump through their friends, Fox News personalities, or Hollywood celebrities to talk to the president. This unusual line worked for people like Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff, Dinesh D’Souza, a right-wing commentator, and Michael Milken, a financier convicted of securities fraud.
Trump also pardoned Kim Kardashian West, who initiated his case in the Oval Office. And earlier this year, he changed the sentence of his former confidant, Roger Stone, whose conviction stemmed from the Mueller investigation.
Flynn’s tenure in the White House lasted only a few weeks – he resigned after getting involved in a public lie over his Russian connections.
At the end of 2017, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about these connections, but later denied his request and tried to drop the case. The Ministry of Justice abandoned the case this spring, which is still in a legal situation, with a startling turn.
Throughout the saga, Flynn narrowly avoided judgment.
It also became a symbol of Trump’s persistent efforts to undermine the Russian investigation and a channel for testing the separation of powers between judges and prosecutors.
The Justice Department said Flynn should never have been interrogated by the FBI in January 2017 and put him in a situation where he lied.
This is a groundbreaking story and we will update it.
