A couple of Democratic senators from New England's beachfront properties—Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut—have come right up to the edge of saying what a great number of people have suspected for a while: Namely, that Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser and probably the worst executive branch hire since Albert Fall, has begun to sing sweet, sweet melodies to various investigators. If these two guys are right, then that would explain why everybody in the White House, except (possibly) the gardeners, are scrambling for lawyers. If these two guys are right, then the threat level on all things Russia (and, perhaps, all things Turkey as well) just went into the red zone.
There is more than enough reason to believe that Flynn holds the keys to the kingdom. The president* went to great lengths to keep him around and, when that fell through, he went to great lengths to keep in touch with Flynn, at least for a while. And the leverage the FBI or Whoever has on him keeps getting ratcheted up. Moreover, if you read down through that ABC News story, you discover that Flynn attached himself to a completely harebrained scheme to develop some sort of US-Russia private partnership arrangement concerning nuclear power in precisely the worst place in the world to have loose nuclear fuel lying around.
Lawmakers believe [Flynn's] travels were related to a proposed U.S.-Russian partnership that would have been financed by Saudi Arabia to build, operate and secure dozens of nuclear reactors throughout the Middle East, the details of which were outlined by internal company memos first published by Newsweek. Flynn was reportedly tasked with developing a security strategy for the network of reactors and calming the concerns of uneasy U.S. allies in the region, such as Israel and Egypt. While proponents touted the potential security benefits of the arrangement, particularly the opportunity to secure radioactive waste that could be used to make nuclear bombs, there is evidence to suggest that U.S. entities might have been pursuing a more self-interested agenda. Designers of the venture, Newsweek reported, sought not only to jump-start the sputtering U.S. nuclear industry but also to drive a wedge between Russia and Iran, two powerful impediments to U.S. interests in the Middle East.
This guy has some stories to tell, certainly.
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Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.
