Whistleblower Reveals New Evidence in Russia Case

The federal investigation into ties between the Trump administration and Russia has taken a new turn, thanks to a whistleblower who has revealed some critical information about Michael Flynn, the former National Security Adviser. Here, btw takes a closer look at the story.

Background

Michael Flynn was Trump’s national security adviser for just 24 days before he was fired for lying to the administration about the nature of some of his communications with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Since then, Flynn was indicted and is currently being investigated for his Russian interactions by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. Two weeks ago he pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI about his calls to Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Related Link

Look back on the story written when Michael Flynn resigned from the Trump administration.

Read about the more recent updates in the Russia investigation.

So What’s Changed?

Last week, Elijah Cummings–a Maryland representative and the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee–revealed in a letter that his office had been contacted back in June by an unnamed whistleblower with information about the Flynn case. A whistleblower is an informant: in other words, someone who reveals illegal or unethical conduct within an organization. In this case, the whistleblower told Cummings’ office that Flynn had been working with Russia to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East. According to the whistleblower, on Inauguration Day–in fact, in the middle of Trump’s inaugural address–Flynn texted his business associate, Alex Copson of ACU Strategic Partners, to say that economic sanctions against Russia would quickly be removed as one of the new president’s first acts. He advised his associate that the project would now be starting very quickly and to move ahead with it.

Why Is This Important?

The whistleblower’s information is important for two reasons. First, it shows that Flynn would benefit personally and economically if the United States were to improve its relationship with Russia. This information also indicates that the Trump administration was planning to remove the economic sanctions against Russia right away.

What Will Happen Next?

Representative Cummings responded to the whistleblower’s claims by sending a letter to Trey Gowdy, a Republican representative from South Carolina and the chair of the House Oversight and Government Committee. Cummings asked Gowdy to investigate the matter further, and also said that the whistleblower will agree to meet with Gowdy if Gowdy agrees to keep the whistleblower’s identity a secret.

However, Gowdy responded by saying that he would not investigate further because this is the responsibility of Special Prosecutor Mueller’s team, and he does not wish to interfere. Therefore, it’s still unclear what the outcome of this new information will be.

Dig Deeper To help keep track of the players involved in the Russia scandal, make a list of the key figures mentioned in this article and other places in the news, and then write a few sentences identifying each one. Remember to include Michael Flynn, Robert Mueller, Elijah Cummings, Alex Copson, and Trey Gowdy.