A Bigger Deal Than It Seems

As yet we only have an unnamed whistleblower claiming that Mike Flynn was texting his former business partners on inauguration day with assurances that President Trump would tear up sanctions against Russia as soon as he got to the White House. But assuming this account, or some version of it, is accurate it is far more significant than it may at first seem.

This story may make it seem like it was simple money corruption behind Flynn’s actions rather than some kind of conspiracy or collusion with Russian operatives. I don’t think that’s right. We should expect that such an operation that the Russians were trying to execute would seek to enlist and compromise targets through financial deals just like this. This was an American company, at least with American principals, who were connected and financed in large part by “Russian interests.”