President Trump said Saturday he was not concerned about his former national security advisor Michael Flynn pleading guilty to one count of lying to the FBI and cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
When asked by reporters before departing for New York if he was worried about what Flynn might say, Trump said, "No, I'm not. And what has been shown is no collusion. No collusion. There has been absolutely no collusion. So we're very happy."
But later, the president tweeted something that seemed problematic:
I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017
If this is true and Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI, asked FBI Director James Comey to let Flynn go, and then fired Comey, the president's tweet is an open admission to obstruction of justice.
Former Obama Justice Official Matthew Miller responded accordingly:
Oh my god, he just admitted to obstruction of justice. If Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he asked Comey to let it go, then there is your case. https://t.co/c6Wtd0TfzW
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 2, 2017
Trump's tweet indicates he knew that Flynn lied to the FBI when he fired him, but that wasn't reported by The Washington Post until three days after his dismissal. At the time, Trump cited only that Flynn had misled Vice President Pence.
Trump’s lawyer John Dowd drafted the president’s tweet, according to two people familiar with the twitter message. Its authorship could reduce how significantly it communicates anything about when the president knew that Flynn had lied to the FBI, but also raises questions about the public relations strategy of the president's chief lawyer.
Two people close to the administration described the tweet simply as sloppy and unfortunate.
Dowd meant to convey that Flynn was fired for lying to Pence and other White House officials about his conversations with Kislyak, and "now we know" that he lied to the FBI, according to these sources. But Dowd bungled the tweet and created confusion around Mr. Trump's knowledge of events.
Full story: Trump on Michael Flynn’s guilty plea: It’s a ‘shame’ because he had ‘nothing to hide’ (WaPo)
Ex-Obama DOJ official: Trump 'just admitted to obstruction of justice' (The Hill)
Trump lawyer wrote tweet implying Trump knew Flynn lied to FBI (CBS News)