. Michael Flynn pleads guilty.){kind=link}
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the investigations into Trump campaign associates and Russian election interference (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
As part of a plea deal, former national security adviser Michael Flynn has admitted that a senior member of the Trump transition team directed him to make contact with Russian officials in December 2016.
Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI, becoming the first official who worked in the Trump White House to make a guilty plea so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
The government did not reveal the identity of the senior transition official.
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11:15 a.m.
A federal judge says former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn is cooperating with the government in the wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras said during Flynn’s plea hearing that the government will decide how effectively Flynn is cooperating as part of a plea agreement.
Flynn didn’t speak in court, other than to say he would plead guilty.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is examining possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
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11:12 a.m.
Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with a Russian diplomat.
It’s the first plea by any of the four former advisers to President Donald Trump charged so far in the wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Flynn has been under investigation for a wide range of allegations, including his lobbying work on behalf of Turkey, but the fact that he was charged only with a single count of making false statements suggests he is cooperating with Mueller’s investigation in exchange for leniency.
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10:45 a.m.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has arrived at the U.S. federal courthouse in Washington. He’s scheduled to plead guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI.
Court documents show Flynn will admit to lying about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the transition period before Trump’s inauguration. Flynn was an early and vocal supporter on the campaign trail of President Donald Trump whose business dealings and foreign interactions made him a central focus of Mueller’s investigation.
The expected guilty plea makes the retired Army lieutenant general the first person to have actually worked in the Trump White House to face formal charges in the investigation, which is examining possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
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9:25 a.m.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is to plead guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI, the fourth former Trump adviser charged so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Court documents show Flynn, an early and vocal supporter on the campaign trail of President Donald Trump whose business dealings and foreign interactions made him a central focus of Mueller’s investigation, will admit to lying about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the transition period before Trump’s inauguration.
The expected guilty plea makes the retired Army lieutenant general the first person to have actually worked in the Trump White House to face formal charges in the investigation, which is examining possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.