December 6, 2017

Michael Flynn Vowed to Put Ending Russia Sanctions Among “First Orders of Business,” Whistleblower Says

Congressman summarizes “credible” claims in a letter to the House Oversight Committee..

Ting Shen/ZUMA

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Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, promised to swiftly end US sanctions against Russia as one of the “first orders of business” for the incoming Trump administration, according to a whistleblower’s account detailed in a new letter from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The whistleblower also said that within minutes of Trump’s swearing in, Flynn communicated directly with business associates while at the inauguration ceremony about plans to begin building nuclear reactors in the Middle East—a joint project with Russia, according to the letter.

“Mike has been putting everything in place for us,” the former business associate Alex Copson said, according to the whistleblower. “This is going to make a lot of very wealthy people.”

“Our Committee has credible allegations that President Trump’s National Security Advisor sought to manipulate the course of international nuclear policy for the financial gain of his former business partners,” Cummings wrote. “These grave allegations compel a full, credible, and bipartisan congressional investigation,” Cummings wrote in the letter addressed to committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.).

Last week, Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his communications to Russian officials.

Read Cummings’ letter below:

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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