Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has a son who is also named Michael Flynn. Flynn the younger is best known for his outlandish statements in support of every possible conspiracy theory, such as a Russian bribery scandal involving President Obama, a secret group behind the Las Vegas shooting, and a fresh set of accusations against Hillary Clinton. And all that is just today. Which makes this a fairly typical day in the life of blowhard racist golf bro, Michael Flynn—whose biggest accomplishment in life is spreading the insane “Pizzagate” story.
But the scruffier, pudgier Flynn—whose only military experience is dodging duck hooks on the golf course—was employed for a bit packing his father’s briefcase, accompanying him on overseas trips, and possibly little things like helping poppa plan to kidnap people and hand them over to foreign dictators. Which has earned him some time with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and has now brought him to the attention of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The committee, which is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, is interested in Flynn’s work as his father’s aide and travel companion with Flynn Intel Group, the consulting firm retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn formed after he left government service, the sources said.
In particular, Junior Flynn was along for that trip.
The younger Flynn, 34, accompanied his father on a 2015 trip to Moscow, where the elder Flynn sat next to Vladimir Putin at a dinner to celebrate Russia’s state-funded media network, RT. The younger Flynn can be seen in video from an associated event.
The one person who is likely edging out Paul Manafort for “most likely to draw serious jail time” in the whole Trump-Russia affair is Michael Flynn. And we can only hope that’s another trip where Junior goes along.
The depth of the younger Flynn’s involvement isn’t completely clear, but what’s being investigated certainly extends into more than just the Russia-related issues from the campaign.
When it comes to the Flynns, the focus of Mueller's investigation remains murky. It's been reported that Gen. Flynn may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by apparently failing to disclose work he'd done to benefit the Turkish government—work that may have bordered on the sensational. At one point, the elder Flynn was reportedly involved in conversations about a plan to whisk an enemy of the Turkish government—a Muslim cleric named Fethullah Gülen, who currently lives in exile in a compound in rural Pennsylvania—out of the United States, handing him over to Turkey to face punishment.
Which is the kind of wonderful flouting of US laws that someone is required to demonstrate right before being made the National Security Advisor for Donald Trump. Junior was apparently involved in this scheme, but he has a good defense—he’s an idiot.
Essentially, says a senior Trump transition official, the Flynns may try to mount a Pretty Average Dude defense. The myriad legal hassles the Flynns now face stem not from nefarious intent, the official argued, but from the fact that Flynn Jr. was in charge of the Flynn Intel Group's paperwork and was unqualified for his position. That's not to say, the official stressed, that Flynn Jr. would become "the fall guy," just that he believed Junior was in way over his head. "I wouldn't expect him to know who Farrah Fawcett is, let alone a FARA filing," said the official.
So the position is that Michael Flynn Jr. is too stupid to prosecute. And it’s a fair point. If he’s not a drunken, frat boy, alt-Reich, asswipe, he certainly plays one on Twitter. Every. Single. Day.
Still, this seems like one of those times when ignorance of the law, ignorance of common decency, and ignorance of ass vs. hole in ground still don’t constitute an excuse.