Trump says Flynn is being treated unfairly

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Monday said the outrage against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI, is unfair. “Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI. Nothing happened to her,” Trump told reporters. “Flynn lied and they destroyed his life.” As part of the plea deal, Flynn agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. On Saturday, Trump tweeted he had to fire Flynn because he lied to the FBI and Vice President Mike Pence. When Trump fired Flynn in February, the White House only listed false statements to the vice president as the reason for his dismissal. Trump’s tweet gave critics fresh fire to pursue an obstruction of justice charge, claiming Trump should have acted if he knew Flynn misled the FBI. “You tweet and comment regarding ongoing criminal investigations at your own peril, I’d be careful if I were you, Mr. President, and I’d watch this,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday. Trump tweeted on Sunday that he never asked former FBI Director James Comey to stop investigating Flynn. When he fired Comey in May, he cited a loss of confidence in the FBI under Comey’s tenure and his handling of the Clinton email inquiry, as well as the Russia probe. Over the weekend, media outlets reported that Peter Strzok, who helped lead the Clinton investigation, exchanged anti-Trump texts with a colleague, leading to his dismissal from Mueller’s staff in August. The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General is looking into Strzok’s conduct. Trump also tweeted this weekend that he would restore the FBI “back to greatness,” in response to the report. Meanwhile, the Kremlin denied Monday that Flynn influenced decisions by President Vladimir Putin regarding the United States. U.S. prosecutors claim Flynn spoke with Sergei Kislyak, then–Russian ambassador to the United States, last year about weakening economic sanctions in exchange for influencing the U.S. presidential election in Trump’s favor, a claim Russia denies.