Flynn’s Fall: A Timeline Of Key Events That Led To A Guilty Plea

WASHINGTON, DC — General Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday morning to lying to the FBI, a monumental development in the investigation into alleged collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia to tilt the 2016 election. Flynn previously served as Trump’s national security adviser and was once thought to be on the shortlist for Trump’s pick for vice president.

Here are the key events that led Flynn from having the ear of the president to him pleading guilty to federal crime:

December 2015:
Michael Flynn was appointed head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012 during the Obama administration. He resigned in 2014, reportedly because he was urged to do so by the administration. Flynn, disgruntled by his early retirement, began a relationship with the Kremlin-backed news network Russia Today. In December 2015, Flynn attended an Russia Today gala in Moscow and sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

February 2016:
Flynn told CNN that he had been advising then-candidate Trump on “a range of issues,” including national security and foreign policy. Flynn said he remained a registered Democrat, but often made far-right statements about Islam and the threat of terrorism in the United States.

May 2016:
CNN reported that Trump was considering tapping Flynn as his vice president, but later settled on Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Nonetheless, Flynn continued stumping for Trump on the campaign trail, perhaps vying for a cabinet position.

July 2016:
Flynn addressed the Republican National Convention in a fiery speech in which he called for the imprisonment of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “Lock her up, that's right!” he said in the speech. “Damn right, exactly right. … And you know why we're saying that? We're saying that because, if I, a guy who knows this business, if I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today.”

November 2016:
Donald Trump was elected president and tapped Flynn as his security adviser less than two weeks later.

December 2016:
President Obama issued new sanctions on Russia for alleged meddling in the U.S. election and expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the U.S. Fynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak several times after the sanctions were announced, but the Trump administration would later claim he did not discuss the sanctions. The calls were reportedly placed on unsecured lines and monitored by U.S. intelligence.

January 2017:
On Jan. 12, 2017 The Washington Post revealed that Flynn and the Russian ambassador had those phone conversations, raising the question that Flynn may have violated the Logan Act, which bars unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. Vice President Mike Pence appeared on television on Jan. 15 and claimed Flynn told him he did not discuss the sanctions with Kislyak.

President Trump took the oath of office on Jan. 20.

February 2017:
Flynn resigned as national security adviser after it was revealed he misled Vice President Pence about his discussion with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition. The Washington Post reported on Feb. 9 that Flynn did indeed discuss sanctions with the ambassador, and Flynn resigned on Feb. 13.

December 2017:
Flynn pleaded guilty to misleading the FBI about his conversations with the Kislyak.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster