{UAH} Edward Mulindwa, Your Friday just got better! Former Trump Adviser Michael Flynn Charged In Special Counsel's Russia Investigation

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump's former national security adviser has been charged with lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government, an extraordinary development in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Michael Flynn is scheduled to appear in federal court in D.C. at 10:30 a.m., where he's expected to plead guilty to one count of making a false statement to FBI agents.

In a criminal information filing from Mueller's team, the government alleges that Flynn "willfully and knowingly made materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements" in an interview with FBI agents on Jan. 24. It alleges he falsely told the FBI that he did not ask the Russian ambassador to refrain from retaliating to sanctions the Obama administration imposed on Russia in late December. Flynn also allegedly lied about asking the Russian ambassador on Dec. 22 to delay or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution.

The New York Times reported in late November that Flynn's lawyer, Robert Kelner, was no longer sharing information with Trump's legal team, further raising the possibility that Flynn may be cooperating with Mueller's probe. Kelner later met with the investigators, according to ABC News.

But those indictments involved only Trump campaign officials. Flynn is the first former administration official to be charged, making it more difficult for the White House to distance the president from Mueller's probe.

After Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey amid his investigation into the campaign, Comey testified that Trump had requested that he end the FBI's investigation into Flynn.

In the fall of 2016, a businessman with close ties to Turkey's autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid Flynn more than $500,000 to conduct research aimed at discrediting the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen. Flynn failed to disclose the work until March, after he had already stepped down as national security adviser.

Mueller's team has reportedly investigated Flynn's lobbying firm and its dealings with Turkey.

Flynn also hid multiple contacts with Russia during Trump's transition, including discussing sanctions with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

He also attended a meeting with Kislyak to discuss creating a backchannel with Putin. Also in attendance was Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is now a senior White House adviser and also reportedly a subject of Mueller's probe.

White House officials have repeatedly denied any collusion between Trump's team and Russia, often by downplaying suspected officials' involvement in the campaign or the administration. In March, then-press secretary Sean Spicer diminished Flynn as just "a volunteer." 

Alana Horowitz Satlin contributed reporting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Former Trump Adviser Michael Flynn Charged In Special Counsel's Russia Investigation | HuffPost
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