Top Intel Dem: It’s not that easy for WH to distance itself from Flynn

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Friday that it will be difficult for President Trump and other members of the White House to distance themselves from the actions of former national security adviser Michael Flynn after his guilty plea to charges of false statements to the FBI.

In an interview with CNN on Friday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said that Flynn’s admission was “breathtaking.”

“This is the national security adviser of the country, the chief adviser to the President in terms of protecting our country and basically he has admitted that he was a liar,” Schiff told CNN’s Jim Sciutto. 

{mosads}Flynn’s actions, Schiff charged, were an indication of a “broader” pattern of dishonesty within the Trump administration over contacts with Russia.

“This is part of a broader pattern in which the administration officials as well as campaign officials have dissembled or outright lied about their contacts with Russians,” Schiff said. “He told senior transition officials about this, those people all became part of that White House. So it’s not going to be that easy for the White House to simply say, ‘nothing to see here.’ “

Schiff’s comments come just hours after the White House sought to distance Trump and other officials from Flynn, telling reporters that Flynn was fired for making false statements to Trump officials and that he was initially given security clearance under the Obama administration.

“The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year,” said White House lawyer Ty Cobb. “Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn.”

In a statement Friday, Flynn apologized for lying to investigators and stated that he would fully comply with Mueller’s investigation.

“It has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of ‘treason’ and other outrageous acts,” Flynn said in his statement.

“The actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right,” he added. “My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel’s Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country.”