Washington (CNN)– While he was cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn contacted at least one member of Congress who was publicly criticizing the special counsel probe, according to messages obtained by CNN.
Flynn sent Twitter direct messages to Rep. Matt Gaetz, encouraging the Florida Republican to “keep the pressure on.” It’s not clear if Flynn sent additional messages to other lawmakers.
“You stay on top of what you’re doing. Your leadership is so vital for our country now. Keep the pressure on,” Flynn wrote in an April 2018 message to Gaetz, which was obtained by CNN.
On the evening Flynn sent the message to Gaetz, the lawmaker had appeared on Fox Business’ “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” where he criticized the Mueller investigation.
“We’ve got to play a far stronger role in exposing the hypocrisy at the Department of Justice,” Gaetz said in the April 3, 2018, appearance. “With no evidence of collusion, with no evidence of any crime whatsoever, they unleashed Bob Mueller to go investigate things that happened before Donald Trump was even contemplating running for president.”
That same hour, Flynn sent Gaetz the direct message.
Gaetz also received a message in February of this year. On the day that Attorney General William Barr was confirmed, Flynn sent Gaetz GIFs of a bald eagle and an American flag, without any accompanying text.
Gaetz, who called for Mueller’s resignation and has been among the most vocal critics of the special counsel, confirmed that he received the messages, but said he did not respond. Gaetz did not have a prior relationship with Flynn, he said.
The messages raise fresh questions about Flynn’s contact with politically powerful people following his guilty plea in the Mueller probe. They add to a perception that has played out in Flynn’s courtroom proceedings that he has modulated between helping the special counsel and stoking Mueller’s critics in the Republican Party.
Flynn’s cooperation with Mueller is in the spotlight again after court records unsealed on Thursday revealed that Flynn had told the special counsel that “persons connected to the administration or Congress” had contacted him — with an attorney for President Donald Trump even leaving a voicemail — and potentially attempted to influence his willingness to cooperate. Mueller credited Flynn with telling investigators he had been contacted, and the special counsel asked a judge last year to consider not sending Flynn to jail for his crime because he had been so helpful.
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Flynn contacted GOP Mueller critic while cooperating with special counsel – CNNPolitics https://t.co/wqazkbyI0P
— John Weaver (@jwgop) May 18, 2019
Gaetz. Of course. https://t.co/C2XeU9H8Nz
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 18, 2019
The people that Trump hires seem to be chosen from the bottom of the barrel. Probably for a reason. A honorable person can’t be controlled. Someone who is already corrupted is easier to handle.
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