Trump’s tweets about Flynn could show he obstructed justice, say analysts
Trump pounces on ABC News over erroneous report on Michael Flynn
Was Flynn asked to wear a wire in Mueller hunt for evidence on Russia?
Martin Pengelly and agencies
@MartinPengelly
Monday 4 December 2017 00.56 AEDT
Donald Trump seized on ABC News’ suspension of a reporter over an erroneous report about Michael Flynn, tweeting his “congratulations” as he continued to rail against the special counsel’s investigation into meddling in the US election, which he called “the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt”.
Flynn plea deal increases exposure of senior Trump transition team members
As the president did so, analysts pointed out that by tweeting about Flynn, he could have placed himself in legal jeopardy.
Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about conversations with Russian officials. He also announced his co-operation with Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Experts told the Guardian the wording of his plea agreement may indicate that Flynn has already worn a wire or recorded conversations with others under investigation.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted that he “had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the vice-president and the FBI”. Trump had not previously said Flynn lost his job because of an actual criminal matter, such as lying to the FBI, rather than the political error of lying to vice-president Mike Pence, which was cited at the time.
Analysts were quick to point out that if Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI, his asking then FBI director James Comey to drop the investigation of Flynn would constitute obstruction of justice, one of the issues Mueller is examining. Trump later fired Comey.
Speaking under oath in Congress in June, Comey said he believed Trump directed him to drop the Flynn investigation.
On Sunday morning, Trump wrote: “I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!”
ABC News’ error came on Friday, when chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross cited an unnamed confidant of Flynn in reporting that Trump had directed Flynn to make contact with Russians while he was a candidate in last year’s presidential election.
Hours later, Ross clarified his report on ABC’s evening news, saying his source now said Trump had done so as president-elect, asking Flynn to contact the Russians about issues including working together to fight Islamic State. ABC issued a correction.
“We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday,” the network said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the report was not “fully vetted through our editorial standards process”.
“It is vital we get the story right and retain the trust we have built with our audience,” the statement said.
Trump tweeted: “Congratulations to ABC News for suspending Brian Ross for his horrendously inaccurate and dishonest report on the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt. More Networks and ‘papers’ should do the same with their Fake News!”
On Sunday morning he sought to up the ante, writing:
@realDonaldTrump
People who lost money when the Stock Market went down 350 points based on the False and Dishonest reporting of Brian Ross of @ABC News (he has been suspended), should consider hiring a lawyer and suing ABC for the damages this bad reporting has caused - many millions of dollars!
12:15 AM - Dec 4, 2017
The Dow Jones industrial average did fall by more 350 points after the ABC report, although it had largely recovered by the end of the day.
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Ross, 69, tweeted: “My job is to hold people accountable and that’s why I agree with being held accountable myself.”
Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school based in Florida, told the Associated Press that in Trump’s America, errors like that made by Ross could have serious consequences.
Donald Trump: Michael Flynn's actions during transition were lawful
“When the president of the United States refers to the press collectively as an enemy of the people, the people who support that view will interpret certain acts of journalism as being evidence that the president is correct,” he said.
“When there is a clear mistake, it can be translated by folks who are attacking the press as bias. I think it’s very important for journalists in this political culture to be more aggressive, and more cautious at the same time.”
Trump’s tweet about ABC came shortly after two complaints about the FBI and justice department’s treatment of Hillary Clinton, his opponent in 2016, over her use of a private email server while secretary of state.
Early on Sunday morning he returned to the subject, tweeting about a New York Times report on Saturday which said Mueller had removed an FBI agent from his team this summer, after the discovery of text messages critical of Trump. He also returned to an old complaint about a donation to an FBI deputy director by a Clinton ally.
The president added: “After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.”
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