On December 18th, 2018 there was a hearing in the courtroom of Judge Emmet Sullivan. The purpose was to impose sentence upon a defendant who had pleaded guilty to making false statements. In this case, lying to FBI.
Generally speaking the defendant was Mike Flynn. A wee 🧵👇🏻
Standing before Judge Sullivan was former National Security Advisor, unregistered foreign agent of Turkey, former head of Defense Intelligence Agency and three star General, Mike Flynn. He was there to be sentenced for lying to the FBI.
To understand how we got to December 18th, 2018, we need to go back to November 30, 2017.
‘I am, in fact, guilty of the crime charged.’
Signed right there by Mike Flynn on November 30th, 2017.
A man with three stars and the security of our nation on his shoulders, has admitted he really did lie to the FBI as they investigated foreign interference in our election.
I apologize for any turbulence encountered as we now jump to December 8th, 2020. We know how this story ends. Mike Flynn was pardoned by trump, so there is no spoiler here. Here we find Judge Emmet Sullivan ending the case of US vs Michael Flynn. courtlistener.com/docket/6234142…
But let’s take a closer look now at what Judge Sullivan outlined as he concluded the case. Lt. Gen Mike Flynn lied about the contact with Russia about sanctions and their vote in an upcoming UN Resolution.
Mike Flynn lied to the United States Department of Justice about work he performed on behalf of Turkey in violation of the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
This means those shoulders our National Security and three stars rested upon had shrugged us off.
When you see the word ‘Material’ below, it means the lies Mike Flynn told were important to what the FBI was investigating. The Mueller investigation may have proceeded differently if not for the lies that Mike Flynn told.
Remember that? There was a report and a hearing and everything. Mueller even said during that hearing trump himself could be charge with a crime after leaving office. thehill.com/policy/nationa…
But those 10 or so instances Mueller reported about Obstruction of Justice were never acted upon by our Attorney General Bill Barr. Instead, what Bill Barr curiously did act upon, was the case of US vs. Michael Flynn.
Let’s go back to Judge Sullivan’s case recap.
AG Barr’s DOJ is saying the lies Michael Flynn told, were *not* ‘material’ 🤔 They say the charges could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But wait, I’m confused, didn’t we just see for ourselves Mike Flynn’s signature on a guilty plea? Surely DOJ can prove an admission.
Alas, it doesn’t really matter because on November 25th, 2020, trump pardoned Mike Flynn for his lies. But what does matter is that even though he was pardoned, 🗣the NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR Mike Flynn still lied.
And what he lied about was so important that when trump pardoned him, he pardoned him with forethought. He pardoned Mike Flynn for crimes he hadn’t even been charged with yet. He pardoned Mike Flynn just in case the Mueller investigation found other crimes.
Now why would he do that? 🤔
Perhaps he knew there would be more crimes found. But not now, because Mike Flynn lied. Lying to protect the president and then being pardoned by that president for doing so seems a little corrupty. Maybe someone should #ChallengeThePardons
But Joe, this is just the opinion of Judge Sullivan as he sees the facts. It’s not like you were there. You weren’t in the courtroom during the hearings. Fair criticism skeptical reader…Let’s now go to the courtroom transcripts and see for ourselves what Mike Flynn said.
For the record, The Court = Judge Sullivan, The Defendant = Michael Flynn.
Here we learn the man responsible for our national security, Mike Flynn, was cooperating with the government. Providing them with information. Was he lying then too? Was he working in America’s interests?
Read what Mike Flynn agrees to. Right here. Read what Judge Sullivan said.
‘All along you were an unregistered agent of a foreign country.’
‘Arguably, you sold your country out.’
Judge Sullivan, then asks the government if Mike Flynn could have been charged with treason. The response from the government is nuanced. They don’t say no.
Everyone, treason, sorry…Treason (it should be capitalized), is a crime against all of us. A crime against our nation, is a crime against all who love it. All who died for it. It’s a crime against you, a crime against me, and a crime against the very idea of America itself.
If we are a nation of laws, we must uphold them. If we respect the rule of law, then we must enforce them, equally and without prejudice. When we don’t, those not held accountable become emboldened to continue or escalate their criminal activity.
If a federal judge is concerned Treason may have occurred in a case where a pardon was granted, is this not a warning? If it is, perhaps we should heed it when it involves the former head of Defense Intelligence Agency because this is what Mike Flynn has been up to recently.👇🏻
It is December 19, 2021. In four years and one day Mike Flynn has gone from lying about selling out his country, to selling out churches. He is on tour spreading lies about masks, lies about vaccinations. He is spreading Big lies about election fraud.
Now we have a @January6thCmte investigating an Insurrection. A committee who suspects Mike Flynn’s lies about election fraud contributed to an attempt to overthrow the government of the country he was sworn to protect. january6th.house.gov/sites/democrat…
We have a new Attorney General, but the same lying three star General. One of those has a history of being a federal judge, the other a history of almost being sent to prison by one. Pardon me, but who does it serve for Mike Flynn to continue lying to the American public?
If you’ve read this and thought, “Wow, that Mike Flynn is unbelievable.” You’re right. He is.
END
We are in the Both Sides Era. For what seems the past decade, we have been subjected to both sides of the news, normalizing the weird, accepting the inappropriate, and moving on from the unforgivable.
Both sides are not the same.
A wee Sunday morning coffee🧵👇🏻
We have been so conditioned to Both Sides everything that we immediately fall into one side or the other. We are sorting ourselves based on memes and shallow thinking. Reporters complaining about hotel experiences due to the DNC running late, isn’t news. That’s a yelp review.
Have you noticed trump is on both sides of every issue? Probably not, because the “press hasn’t yet learned how to report on trump.” Why is covering trump any different from what they learned in journalism school?
Why not ask him about his incongruities? Or a follow up question?
Did you ever hear the phrase: “they have so much money they don’t know what to do with it.”? Not a problem, I’ve ever run into myself, but Project 2025 is just that. Billionaires want to be bankers. They want to sell off our governmental oversight to private companies they own.
Here is Project 2025. There isn’t one part of our lives this won’t touch. Think it doesn’t mean you? There is no provision to exclude from its effects those who vote for fascism so choose your candidate wisely.
Here is the part where they will abolish the federal reserve. It will be replaced by currency they can “create” and then lend out at their own interest rates.
“There is no place for political violence” has been a pretty common refrain throughout the weekend. It really got me thinking. ”Political violence” must be one of those “you know it when you see it” types of things.
Let’s see…
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Political violence strikes me as a visual medium but there are so many things that occur before we see the blood that I think might be political violence. Are we just numb to it? How do we define what is political violence and what is just violence? Why is it different?
Are Texas Gov Greg Abbott’s razor balls floating in the river, considered “political violence”? Kind of. I mean, the idea is people from south of the US shouldn’t be allowed to come here and take our jobs.
Political.
To deter from this, razor balls in the river.
Violence.
There’s been a lot said about Joe Biden since the debate. I, along with so many of you, watched it play out in real time as respected news transmitters read out ‘inside texts’ from knee jerk reactionaries.
After much thought, I won’t be voting for Joe Biden because he’s old.
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I’ll be voting for Joe Biden because he’s team democracy. I’m voting for ideas he represents. I’m voting for the team of people he can put together. I’m voting for my own interests and for your ability to vote for your own interests. I didn’t vote for him last time either, btw.
In 2020, I voted for a November 5th, 2024 election. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were the only options on the ballot that allowed this. I colored in Joe and Kamala’s bubble to keep the lights on long enough for us to have this election. Like many of you, I voted team democracy.
I am loathe to do predictions. However, there are some things you just can’t help but see coming. Project 2025 is a blinking red alarm and we all need to be aware of the stakes of this election. Please familiarize yourself with EO11246, be discriminating voters.
A wee thread🧵👇🏻
On September 24th, 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed Executive Order 11246. EO11246 established Equal Opportunity Employment. It includes Non-Discrimination in Government. It includes Non-Discrimination Employment by Government Contractors and Subcontractors.
Focus on Non-Discrimination Employment by Government Contractors and Subcontractors. In Sub Part B under Contractor’s Agreements, contractors agree to not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Trust me…
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The above is the oath the President takes at 12 noon on January 20. Typically, it is administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court but there is no law that makes that a requirement. You could have your gran do it. So why is it *usually* the Chief Justice?
For this thread let’s assume the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is there as a symbol of the law. Chief Justice Roberts in a way represents the Judicial Branch of our government on the day it grants power to the person who will symbolize the Executive Branch.