In (Custody) Like Flynn.....

Like many of you I got up this morning and went online for whatever reason (for me, it was to make another call to the Senate regarding the BS tax plan the Repubs are forcing down our throats) and got some news that, while it shouldn't be a surprise, did become one nonetheless.

Yep, the rumors from the past week turned out to be true.  Electoral vote winner Donny's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn turned himself in and is charged in the probe of special prosecutor Robert Mueller.  Flynn is expected to plead guilty to one count of making false statements to federal authorities. Now there was suspicion that something would be up when Flynn's legal team stopped working to the legal team of electoral vote winner Donny about a week or so ago.  While this was floated as a possibility so was a hint that he might have agreed to work with them without charges. 

Now we know a plea deal was made.  As part of the plea Flynn has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.  That is a big deal in the probe since, even though Flynn's time working in the White House was brief.  Flynn did play a fairly big role in the election campaign and, ironically, helped lead a chant of "Lock Her Up" towards Donny's opponent in the election, former Sen. Hillary Clinton during the GOP Convention last year.

The irony here is palpable but the fact that Flynn agreed to a plea deal means that there's a lot more underneath the surface.  I've read a suggestion or two that Flynn is doing this to protect his son, Michael Flynn Jr. [who gained attention in the probe over a reported plot to kidnap a Turkish dissident living in Pennsylvania and fly him somewhere to be detained for Turkey]).  However, while there's still a bit to unpack one thing has emerged.  As part of the plea deal Flynn is reportedly willing to testify that he was authorized by the Trump campaign and then candidate Donald Trump (now electoral vote winner Donny) to make contact with the Russians during the 2016 Presidential campaign. 

Yes, you read that right.  Flynn apparently is now admitting that he was cleared by Donny and his minions to speak with Russia during the campaign.  In addition, ABC News reports that this decision was made within the last 24 hours. It also states that Flynn felt abandoned by his former boss.  Whether this decision was made by expensive legal bills, a (rumored) decision to protect his kin, or actual need to help this country  it does drop a bomb of sorts into the mix.

For now, the usual round of denials and whatboutism from the right will likely be ramped up a bit.  One White House lawyer (TY Cobb) has even referred to Flynn as "a former Obama administration official."  What can't be denied is that Flynn's plea deal is a big deal in this probe since, as attorney and writer Seth Abramson has pointed out on a twitter thread a deal like the one Flynn was given is offered "only when it can incriminate someone "higher up in the food chain" than them.

So who'd be higher up than Flyns that a deal would be offered?.  Well, Atty. General Jeffy Session is at the similar, if not same, level in the hierarchy (at least in terms of national security).  But he's not higher up enough for this (though Jeffy might get caught in the net somehow).  This leaves what Keith Olbermann said in his final political commentary that Nixon counsel turned Watergate whistleblower John Dean told him.  Mueller wouldn't get a deal with Flynn to get Manafort or Don Jr.  Mueller would offer the deal with Michael Flynn "to get Donald Trump."

As I said before this is far from the end of the story.  Flynn's deal with the probe is a big deal given his role in the campaign opens up a door that intensifies a journey that could lead to taking down electoral vote winner Donny, co-electoral vote winner Mikey Pence, or both, 

This is unlikely to happen right away and a lot of things could happen on the road until then (including a possibility that the GOP forces out Donny after getting the tax cuts they want so damn bad).  What this deal does mean is that, while the right wing media and Donny's minions and talking heads say otherwise, that Mueller's probe is far from over.  This also means that, if Mueller is fired in some sort of Saturday night massacre similar to what Nixon pulled (and what ultimately did him in), enough tension would erupt that the blowback would taint Donny enough that, even if he managed to get pardoned, he would be considered toxic to the Americna political landscape. 

For now, Donny has the white nationalists/white supremacists and white conservative christians (i.e.: "evangelicals/fundamentalists/charismatics) on his side.  However, if the snowball rolls far enough and picks up enough to become an avalanche even they may be less willing to stay on the Good Ship Donny as leaks sink it all around them.

Regardless of what goes down it's far from over.  Stay on the lookout.

UPDATE:  Technically Flynn ended up pleading guilty to four false statements (two response he gave regarding the Russians, one on sanctions, and one on Israel.)  While the latter two have some importance on their own, the Russia ones remain the focus of the probe - and the most pertinent as of this time.