Flynn urged Russian ambassador to take 'reciprocal' actions, transcripts show

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Politico


Flynn’s conversations with the ambassador were a key concern to FBI investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 election.

By BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN and KYLE CHENEY

05/29/2020 04:13 PM EDT

Updated: 05/29/2020 05:03 PM EDT

Incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn told Russia’s ambassador to Washington in late 2016 to take “reciprocal” actions in response to Obama administration sanctions for election interference, rather than escalating the situation into a “tit for tat.”

“You might appreciate the sentiments that are raging in Moscow,” the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, replied to Flynn’s request on the Dec, 29, 2016 call.

“I know, I - believe me, I do appreciate it, I very much appreciate it,” Flynn responded. “But I really don't want us to get into a situation where we're going, you know, where we do this and then you do something bigger, and then you know, everybody's got to go back and forth and everybody's got to be the tough guy here, you know?”

The next day, the president-elect praised his Russian counterpart for declining to retaliate, “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!” he tweeted.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/29/trump-flynn-russia-ambassador-289905

[Judi Lynn]

1. Declassified calls show Flynn discussing sanctions with Russian envoy

Incoming DNI John Ratcliffe released the already declassified call summaries on Friday.


May 29, 2020, 2:32 PM CDT / Updated May 29, 2020, 4:11 PM CDT
By Josh Lederman and Carol E. Lee

WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary disclosure of U.S. intelligence materials, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe released newly declassified records on Friday of intercepted calls between former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Russian Ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

The detailed call summaries from December 2016, in the weeks before President Donald Trump took office, offer the clearest public evidence to date that Flynn indeed discussed sanctions specifically during their calls, despite Flynn telling both the FBI and Vice President Mike Pence that they did not.

In one call on Dec. 29, 2016, after the Obama administration slapped sanctions on Russia and expelled its diplomats for meddling in the election, Flynn specifically mentioned those actions. He then urged the Russians to limit its retaliation rather than further enflame relations between the countries just as Trump was about to take office.

“Make it reciprocal. Don't — don't make it — don't go any further than you have to,” Flynn is quoted as saying in the declassified summary of the call. “Because I don't want us to get into something that has to escalate, on a, you know, on a tit-for-tat. You follow me, Ambassador?

More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/key-decision-awaits-new-intel-chief-over-release-flynn-call-n1218361