President Trump lashed out at CNN over the network’s coverage of former national security advisor Michael Flynn, one of the first Trump officials to be ensnared in the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s election interference.
In a pair of tweets late Wednesday evening, the president indicated his support for Flynn amid his former aide’s efforts to withdraw a guilty plea in his case, and said that CNN and others should “pay a big price for what they have purposely done to this man & his family.”
“.@CNN doesn’t want to speak about their persecution of General Michael Flynn & why they got the story so wrong. They, along with others, should pay a big price for what they have purposely done to this man & his family. They won’t even cover the big breaking news about this scam!” Trump tweeted.
The president in another tweet linked, without comment, to a Daily Caller article detailing the latest developments in Flynn’s case including the unsealing of notes indicating that FBI officials discussed the possibility of catching Flynn in a lie during his interrogation.
“What is our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” read the handwritten note.
Flynn initially pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents in 2017. In the months since, his sentencing has repeatedly been delayed and he has worked with a new legal team in an attempt to withdraw his plea, claiming that agents tricked him into lying.
The former national security adviser resigned from the Trump administration after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Pence about the extent of his dealings with foreign nationals.
“What happened to General Michael Flynn, a war hero, should never be allowed to happen to a citizen of the United States again!” the president added in a tweet early Thursday.
–Morgan Chalfant contributed to this report, which was updated at 7:54 a.m.