Dem on Trump’s Flynn tweet: ‘This is obstruction of justice’

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) seized on President Trump’s tweet about his former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Saturday, saying it was proof of obstruction of justice. 

“THIS IS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE. @POTUS now admits he KNEW Michael Flynn lied to the FBI. Yet Trump tried to influence or stop the FBI investigation on Flynn,” Lieu tweeted.

THIS IS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE. @POTUS now admits he KNEW Michael Flynn lied to the FBI. Yet Trump tried to influence or stop the FBI investigation on #Flynn. https://t.co/8JqGBxgou0

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 2, 2017

{mosads}

Lieu’s comments come after Trump on Saturday defended Flynn’s actions during the presidential transition as “lawful,” arguing there was “nothing to hide.”

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

Other vocal Trump critics seized on Trump’s tweet Saturday, pointing to it as evidence of the president obstructing justice.

“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,” former Obama-era Justice Department official Matthew Miller tweeted. 

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

Former senior adviser to President Obama Dan Pfeiffer also weighed in, saying, “If Trump keeps admitting to obstructing justice, Ty Cobb might be right that the Mueller investigation may wrap up sooner than we think.”

If Trump keeps admitting to obstructing justice, Ty Cobb might be right that the Mueller investigation may wrap up sooner than we think https://t.co/4lKCKyE3Ce

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) December 2, 2017

The reaction comes a day after Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Flynn told investigators that he had spoken with then-Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak in the month before Trump took office about U.S. sanctions, despite previous denials.

Flynn was ousted as Trump’s national security adviser on Feb. 13. Former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate in June that Trump asked him during a meeting on Feb. 14 to “let go” of the federal investigation into Flynn.