Ex-White House ethics chiefs: After Flynn, Are Kushner and Don Jr. Next?

[DonViejo]

By RICHARD W. PAINTER and NORMAN L. EISENDEC. 1, 2017

On Friday morning, Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. while serving as President Trump’s national security adviser. Making a false statement to a federal official is a felony offense, but nowhere near as bad as what the special counsel, Robert Mueller, could likely have charged Mr. Flynn with, including charges for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (similar to those brought against the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates) or those stemming from a possible attempt to kidnap a Turkish cleric in Pennsylvania. By pleading guilty and agree to cooperate with Mr. Mueller, Mr. Flynn also appears to have averted prosecution of his son, who was reportedly implicated in some of the misconduct.

Prosecutors generally offer favorable plea bargains like this one only when the cooperating defendant can provide evidence that incriminates someone “up the ladder” — someone more senior than the defendant himself. In our experience, that is particularly true when the prosecutor is deciding not to pursue other, readily provable charges, like those that seem to exist here.

Lest there be any doubt about what is happening, the statement of the offense filed along with Mr. Flynn’s plea shows that he is prepared to testify that the communications that he lied about, concerning conversations with the Russian ambassador in December 2016, were discussed with multiple members of the transition team — including one “senior official” and one “very senior member.” It is not yet clear who those individuals are, but transition officials and members included Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr. as well as Vice President Mike Pence, Representative Devin Nunes of California; the former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

It is probably Mr. Kushner who is in greatest jeopardy now. Bloomberg has reported that he is the very senior transition member who directed Mr. Flynn to reach out to Russia. Mr. Kushner has already been questioned by the special counsel and by Congress. If he was one of those officials Mr. Flynn spoke to and he was not honest about it when questioned, he could face similar false statement charges.

more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/opinion/flynn-kushner-donald-trump-jr.html?_r=0

[Pachamama]

1. Yes....

Next question....

Who is after those two?

Answer: Your Boss

[wishstar]

2. CNN reporter just said it appears Kushner gave different narrative of events than Flynn

and that Special Counsel has settled on a narrative through Flynn's testimony that conflicts with Kushner's version of events, so Kushner is in trouble

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Painter has the real story.

He has been leaking bits and pieces over the last two months. People are talking and the Media is just holding their breath until the Story breaks and then they pill on with,well we knew this or that.