Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to the F.B.I.

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, directed Michael Flynn, then a Trump adviser, to contact Russian officials around December 29, NBC News reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The order was to discuss a United Nations resolution on Israel, the broadcaster said. CNN made a similar claim. The stunning development puts Kushner directly in the crosshairs of Robert Mueller's probe, and comes after Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in a deal which makes him the special counsel's star witness. Kushner's name emerged after a series of court documents disclosed that Flynn was told to speak to the Russians by 'a senior member' of Trump's transition who was then at Mar-a-Lago. Flynn said he will provide 'full cooperation' to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his Russia probe after his stunning guilty plea in federal court Friday morning.

• Flynn lied to the FBI, according to prosecutors, about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016. In one case, Flynn asked Kislyak to “refrain from escalating the situation” in response to Obama-imposed sanctions. On a different topic, Flynn asked Kislyak to vote down a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements. [NYT / Eileen Sullivan, Adam Goldman, and Michael D. Shear]
• Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. Flynn is also reportedly cooperating with Mueller. Now might be time for the White House to start worrying. [ Vox / Andrew Prokop, Zack Beauchamp, and Alex Ward] 
• It’s not clear at this point what form Flynn’s cooperation will take. The Russian contacts Flynn lied about took place during the presidential transition, not the election. [Vox / Andrew Prokop]
• Yet Flynn is getting off pretty easy — just one felony count — which means he might have some very valuable information for Mueller and company. As one legal expert said, “I’m confident Flynn is singing like a bird to Mueller.” [Vox / Sean Illing] 
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• But there is at least one guy who should be worrying: Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. He is reportedly the unnamed “very senior member” of the presidential transition team who instructed Flynn to call the Russians and get them to vote against the UN resolution on Israeli settlements. [Vox / Andrew Prokop] 
• Four people have gone down in the Mueller investigation so far. Two — Flynn and Trump campaign aid George Papadopoulos — have both pleaded guilty to not telling the truth to the FBI about Russia contacts. Which brings up the question: Why are all these people lying to federal investigators? [Axios / Jonathan Swan] 
• This is a lot for a Friday. But here’s how Flynn’s downfall fits into the unfolding saga of possible Trump-Russia collusion. [Vox / Andrew Prokop] 
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