- On Monday, the Kremlin insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not influenced by ex-Trump official Michael Flynn
- Last week, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia
- They say he spoke to Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak after Obama instituted new sanctions against the country for interfering with the presidential election
- Flynn allegedly told the Russians they should hold off reprisals until Trump was in office
- Putin did wait until Trump was in office to carry out counter-sanctions
- But his government claims that had nothing to do with Flynn
The Kremlin insisted on Monday that conversations between President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser and the Russian ambassador to the U.S. didn’t influence Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response to sanctions imposed by Trump’s predecessor.
Former adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about reaching out to Russian officials.
Prosecutors say Flynn asked Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak last December to ‘not escalate the situation’ after the outgoing Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia in retaliation for suspected election interference. Just days later, Putin opted not to retaliate.
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The Kremlin on Monday said that Vladimir Putin (right) was not influenced by ex-Trump official Michael Flynn (left) to hold off on counter-sanctions against the U.S. last year
Flynn’s tenure was short-lived. He was forced to resign in February following news reports revealing that the Obama administration officials had informed Trump’s team that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Kislyak, a fact at odds with the public assertions of Vice President Mike Pence.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday it was ‘absurd’ to suggest that the phone conversation could have influenced Putin’s decision and added that ‘such requests couldn’t have been passed on’ to him.
‘The president makes his own decisions, guided solely by Russia’s national interests,’ Peskov told reporters. ‘Flynn couldn’t have asked Sergei Ivanovich (Kislyak) about anything, and, what’s more such requests couldn’t have been passed on to the Russian president.’
![Flynn pleaded guilty last week to lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak (right, with President Trump in May)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/04/17/46E0C99100000578-5143743-image-a-69_1512407021513.jpg)
Flynn pleaded guilty last week to lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak (right, with President Trump in May)
Russian officials have dismissed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump administration and Moscow as an anti-Russia witch hunt.
Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the Federation Council’s information policy committee, tweeted Monday that ‘Mueller has nothing on Flynn.’
‘Witch-hunters are going away empty-handed,’ he said.