Flynn to make first public appearance since pleading guilty

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn will make his first public appearance since taking a plea deal in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, campaigning for a GOP challenger to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on Friday in California.

ABC News reports Flynn is expected to make remarks and give an endorsement at a campaign event Friday night for Omar Navarro, a Republican running to unseat Waters.

{mosads}”He’s endorsing me,” Navarro told ABC News. “We talked to each other for two hours. We got along really well.”

In early December, Flynn became the first Trump administration official to enter a guilty plea in the ongoing investigation by the special counsel’s office into President Trump and Russia’s election meddling. Flynn has faced financial issues over the case, putting his home up for sale to cover his legal fees.

As part of a plea agreement, Flynn agreed to cooperate fully with Mueller’s investigation, which has so far ensnared several former members of the Trump campaign, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign aide Richard Gates and Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, among others.

Navarro rejected the idea that Flynn’s role in the Mueller investigation would loom over the endorsement.

“I was very happy” to receive Flynn’s endorsement, Navarro said, “because I have a lot of respect for the man. It was an honor and it’s great to have the support for my campaign.

“I’m more than honored to have his endorsement.”

Navarro faces a difficult campaign against Waters, who beat him in 2016 by more than 50 points.