Ex-Obama DOJ official: Trump ‘just admitted to obstruction of justice’

A former Obama administration Justice Department official said Saturday that President Trump “admitted to obstruction of justice” in a tweet.

“Oh my god, he just admitted to obstruction of justice,” former Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller tweeted. “If Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he asked Comey to let it go, then there is your case.”

Oh my god, he just admitted to obstruction of justice. If Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he asked Comey to let it go, then there is your case. https://t.co/c6Wtd0TfzW

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 2, 2017

Miller was responding to a tweet Trump posted Saturday, in which he said he fired former national security adviser Michael Flynn in February because Flynn “lied to the Vice President and the FBI.”

{mosads}

“I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies,” Trump tweeted. “It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!” 

I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017

In February, the White House said Trump asked Flynn to resign from his position because of “eroding trust.”

“There is not a legal issue but rather a trust issue,” then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at the time.

Spicer’s comments indicated Flynn’s ouster was driven by Trump’s frustration that the adviser had misled Vice President Pence and others and not the fact he discussed sanctions with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

In his resignation, Flynn apologized for giving an inaccurate assessment of his conversation with Kislyak to Pence when the latter was still vice president-elect.

After the conversation, Pence gave a February television interview in which he said Flynn had not discussed the issues of sanctions with Kislyak.

Flynn resigned from his White House post on Feb. 13. The following day, FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate in June, Trump asked him to “let go” of an investigation into Flynn.

Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to FBI agents about his contacts with Russian officials.