FBI Chief Orders Internal Review Into Probe of Trump Ex-Aide Flynn

Two weeks after the Justice Department sought to drop charges against U.S. President 👤Donald Trump’s former national security adviser 👤Michael Flynn, the FBI’s director ordered an internal review on Friday of the bureau’s investigation that led to Flynn’s prosecution.

Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who also advised Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, 🇷🇺Russia’s ambassador to the United States, in the weeks before Trump took office.

The probe ordered by FBI Director 👤Christopher Wray will “determine whether any current employees engaged in misconduct” in the investigation of Flynn and “evaluate any FBI policies, procedures or controls” that need to be changed, the agency said in a statement.

The charges arose from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that documented Russian interference in the 2016 campaign to boost Trump’s candidacy. Trump and his allies have denounced the FBI’s investigation of contacts between his campaign and Russians. Wray previously has said he does not believe the FBI unfairly targeted Trump’s campaign.

The Justice Department on May 7 asked U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to drop the charges against Flynn following public pressure from Trump and his political allies. Flynn had sought to withdraw his guilty plea and accused the FBI of tricking him. Sullivan has scheduled a July 16 hearing on the matter.