A person 'connected' to Congress contacted Michael Flynn during Mueller's investigation and may have affected 'his willingness to cooperate'
- Former national security adviser Michael Flynn testified that he or his lawyers spoke to an unidentified person "connected" to Congress during the Russia investigation, according to unredacted court filings released on Thursday.
- The special counsel's office wrote it was "unaware" of some of the communication until being informed of them by Flynn, and that the contacts "could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation."
- The unsealed court document is the first indication that a person with congressional ties had sought to communicate with Flynn during Mueller's investigation.
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Former national security adviser Michael Flynn testified that he or his lawyers were contacted by an unidentified person "connected" to Congress, which may have influenced his ability to cooperate with the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, according to unredacted court filings released on Thursday.
The special counsel's office wrote it was "unaware" of some of the communication until Flynn informed them, and that the contacts "could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation."
The unsealed court document is the first indication that a person with ties to Congress sought to communicate with Flynn during Mueller's investigation. Mueller's report already revealed that Trump and members of his orbit tried to impede the investigation by attempting to persuade White House officials to recant their testimonies about his behavior in the White House.
The latest document also reiterates that the president's personal counsel left a voicemail for Flynn's legal team after Flynn withdrew from his joint defense agreement with Trump and the president's lawyers:
"Let me see if I can't state it in starker terms," Trump's counsel said in the voicemail.
"We need some kind of heads up. Um, just for the sake of protecting all our interests if we can ... Remember what we've always said about the President and his feelings toward Flynn and, that still remains ...," the legal counsel said.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials and his previous lobbying work for the Turkish government. Flynn has since cooperated with the Justice Department and the special counsel's office in its Russia investigation, and possible collusion between Russia and members of President Donald Trump's campaign.