President Donald Trump announced via tweet that he will offer a full pardon to General Michael Flynn. The message stated, “it is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!”
Once official, Trump’s full pardon of Flynn will essentially eliminate any guilty plea made by the former national security adviser who was accused of lying to the FBI. Flynn had pleaded guilty on two occasions, but appears to be in the clear as Trump wraps up his presidency.
Many of Flynn supporters might have wondered why the pardon didn’t come soon, but instead, near the end of Trump’s reign in the White House. Trump suggested, back in March, that he was considering the pardon of Flynn, but now it appears to become a reality just in time for Thanksgiving.
Flynn had pleaded guilty twice, but then began contending the process, suggesting “that he’d been railroaded by prosecutors who were unfairly targeting the president” according to NBC News, which ties into the claims of Russian Collusion being a labeled by many as a hoax investigation.
The Justice Department also leaned towards dismissing criminal charges against Flynn, but that received pushback from Democrats. Some suggested that Attorney General William Barr was trying to impress or appease President Trump at the time. The decision ended up being placed on hold and a federal judge was reportedly reviewing the request to dismiss. It appears now that may not be needed once a pardon is issued.