Biography of Michael Thomas Flynn EXPOSES Shocking Secrets
Biography of Michael Thomas Flynn EXPOSES Shocking Secrets behind one of America’s most controversial military figures. This in-depth documentary reveals hidden truths about Flynn’s early life, rise to Lieutenant General, time as National Security Advisor, and the events that led to his resignation. Discover insider facts the media didn’t cover, with never-before-seen footage and analysis that challenges the mainstream narrative. Whether you view Flynn as a hero or a villain, this biography leaves no stone unturned. Watch until the end to learn how his legacy continues to shape political discourse today. This is not just a story—it's history that still impacts the present. Hit the subscribe button for more explosive biographies of public figures.
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Biography of Michael Thomas Flynn EXPOSES Shocking Secrets behind one of America’s most controversial military figures. This in-depth documentary reveals hidden truths about Flynn’s early life, rise to Lieutenant General, time as National Security Advisor, and the events that led to his resignation. Discover insider facts the media didn’t cover, with never-before-seen footage and analysis that challenges the mainstream narrative. Whether you view Flynn as a hero or a villain, this biography leaves no stone unturned. Watch until the end to learn how his legacy continues to shape political discourse today. This is not just a story—it's history that still impacts the present. Hit the subscribe button for more explosive biographies of public figures.
#MichaelFlynn
#FlynnBiography
#PoliticalDocumentary
#MilitaryBiography
#DeepState
#ControversialFigures
#NationalSecurity
#PoliticalDrama
#YouTubeDocumentary
#AmericanPolitics
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00:00Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're tackling a really complex figure, Michael Flynn. We've gathered quite a bit of public information, biographical stuff, news reports over the years, his own statements, things others have said. And our aim here is to sort of sift through it all, pull out the key insights about his career, his public life, try and get a clearer picture without getting totally bogged down.
00:23Yeah, it's quite a story. I mean, from a decorated military officer to, well, a highly controversial political figure, it's a lot. We're not aiming to judge, just to understand the big moments, the shifts.
00:35Okay, so let's start at the beginning then. His military career spanned, what, over 30 years? Started way back in 81.
00:41Absolutely. Commissioned in military intelligence. Early on, he was at Fort Bragg, 82nd Airborne, XE8th Airborne Corps, JSOC.
00:49JSOC early on too?
00:50Yep. And deployments to Grenada, Haiti, plus time with the 25th Infantry in Hawaii, JRTC in Louisiana, the Intel Center in Arizona, a really broad foundation.
01:01And I remember reading something about Grenada, this story about him jumping 40 feet to rescue some soldiers.
01:07That's the one. It certainly suggests, you know, a willingness for decisive, maybe even risky action, physical courage.
01:15And does that characteristic, that decisiveness kind of track through his career?
01:19I think you could argue it does, maybe sometimes pushing boundaries. When he moved into higher intel roles, G2 for XE8th Airborne Corps, director of intel in Afghanistan for Joint Task Force 180, he was definitely operating at a high level, strategically.
01:34Then command of the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade. But maybe the really pivotal part was his time as director of intelligence for JSOC, 2004 to 2007.
01:45Working with General McChrystal against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
01:48Yeah, that seems critical. It was all about adapting intelligence, making it faster, more effective for counterinsurgency. His work there is often praised, actually.
01:55So honing that ability to process intel quickly.
01:58Exactly. A skill that, you know, might have been used differently later on. After JSOC, he kept rising director of intel at CNTOM, then for the Joint Staff. Pretty standard upward trajectory in that world.
02:10But then, Afghanistan again, as director of intel for ISAF.
02:14That's where the rubber man comes in, right? For sharing classified info on the Haqqani Network with Pakistani officials.
02:20Right. That's a significant moment. It hints at maybe a tension between his operational style, maybe trying to build bridges or get results quickly, and the stricter protocols.
02:31Going rogue, perhaps. Or a different strategic calculation.
02:34Hard to say definitively, but it certainly violated procedures and raised flags. It suggests a willingness to, let's say, interpret the rules his own way to achieve a goal. A pattern, maybe.
02:45Okay. Fast forward to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the DIA. He becomes the director in 2012. Had big plans, this Vision 2020 idea.
02:52Mm-hmm. Accelerating change, integration. And then pretty soon after, in 2013, he makes that visit to Moscow. First U.S. officer allowed inside the GRU headquarters.
03:02Russia's military intelligence. Wow.
03:04Yeah. Now, context is important. Relations were strained, but maybe not totally frozen yet. But it's telling that a planned follow-up visit was denied, and his idea to invite GRU officials here was shot down.
03:17So, the U.S. side was getting uneasy about how close he was getting.
03:20It certainly seems that way. And it wasn't just Russia. You had Stefan Helper raising concerns about Flynn's connection to a Russian woman.
03:27Right.
03:28And colleagues reportedly worried about his management style, his views on counterterrorism. Some higher-ups apparently saw him as insubordinate.
03:36Which all sort of leads to his departure from the DIA in 2014. Was he fired? Forced out? Or just not renewed?
03:44It's debated. But Colin Powell's leaked email was pretty blunt. Said Flynn was abusive with staff, didn't listen, worked against policy, bad management.
03:54And that's where the term Flynn facts came from.
03:56Yeah.
03:56Suggesting he played fast and loose with the truth.
03:58Exactly. That perception started then. It hints at a tendency that, well, seems to pop up again later.
04:04But Flynn himself had a completely different story, didn't he?
04:06Oh, yeah. His view was that he was pushed out for challenging the Obama administration, questioning their narrative about al-Qaeda being weakened, and warning about destabilizing Syria, pointing fingers at Turkey's role with radicals.
04:19So, the truth-teller versus the establishment narrative begins.
04:22Precisely. And that narrative seems really central to understanding his later actions and his appeal to certain groups.
04:28Okay. So, that brings us out of the military and into his next chapter. Politics. Business. He starts the Flynn Intel Group in October 2014.
04:38Right. Pretty quickly after leaving DIA. Offering intelligence services and some of his clients while they drew attention later. Companies linked to Russia like Volkodemmer Airlines, Kaspersky Lab.
04:49Hmm. That timing, given what came later with the election.
04:52Exactly. Those connections became part of the larger scrutiny around Russian interference.
04:57He's leveraging his government experience in the private sector, but the clientele choices are, let's say, notable.
05:04And then there's the work for Turkey, hired by this company, Innovo BV, linked to the Turkish government. Big money involved.
05:12$530,000, reportedly, for lobbying. But the key issue was transparency. He only registered retroactively as a foreign agent under Feyerra in March 2017.
05:22After he was already a national security advisor. Well, briefly.
05:26Right. He acknowledged then that the work could have benefited Turkey, but that late registration, especially given his high-profile roles, was a major problem.
05:35And didn't he write an op-ed around election time in The Hill, praising Erdogan, criticizing Fethullah Gulen?
05:41He did, November 2016. And crucially, he didn't disclose his financial ties to Turkey in that piece. The Hill had to add an editor's note later.
05:49That seems like a pretty clear conflict of interest.
05:51Absolutely. And it gets deeper. There were allegations about a meeting in September 2016 with Turkish officials where they supposedly discussed a potentially kidnapping Gulen.
06:00Kidnapping.
06:00It adds another layer of concern about just how far he might have been willing to go in his dealings with foreign powers.
06:06And then, of course, the RT Gala in Moscow.
06:09Yeah.
06:09December 2015.
06:11Sitting next to Putin.
06:13Yeah. That image became iconic, didn't it?
06:15He gave a speech, got paid around $45,000.
06:18It set off huge alarm bells back in the U.S. intelligence and defense communities.
06:22Led to a DOD investigation.
06:25Emoluments Clause worries.
06:27Correct.
06:28Concerns about a retired general officer taking money from a foreign government, especially one seen as an adversary like Russia.
06:35The army actually tried to get about $38,000 of that payment back.
06:39It just seems incongruous.
06:42A career intelligence guy.
06:43Yeah.
06:44Presumably aware of the Russian threat, taking money from RT and sitting with Putin.
06:48It does raise serious questions about his judgment at that point, or maybe his priorities had shifted significantly.
06:53Okay, let's pivot to the 2016 election.
06:56She jumps aboard the Trump campaign early February 2016.
06:59Even gets vetted for VP.
07:01Becomes a really key advisor.
07:02And very visible.
07:03That speech at the Republican National Convention.
07:05Fiery stuff.
07:06The lock-her-up chant.
07:07Exactly.
07:08A defining moment.
07:09But it wasn't just the rhetoric.
07:10He was also, you know, retweeting anti-Semitic comments.
07:13He did apologize later and sharing false news stories, conspiracy theories.
07:17So a real shift from the measured intel professional to a kind of political warrior embracing more extreme stuff.
07:24It seems that way.
07:25A very different public persona emerged.
07:28And his willingness to engage with conspiracy theories is, well, striking, given his background in assessing information.
07:34Which sets the stage for the FBI investigation, Crossfire Hurricanes, starting August 2016, looking into potential Russian ties to the campaign.
07:42Right.
07:43And the inspector general later found there was a sufficient basis and authorized purpose to open that investigation.
07:49That probe is hanging in the background as we move into the transition and his brief time in the White House.
07:54A very brief time.
07:55Appointed National Security Advisor takes office in January 2017.
08:00Resigns.
08:01When?
08:01Mid-February.
08:02February 13th.
08:03Just 24 days.
08:04Historically short.
08:05And even before he started, President Obama had apparently warned President-elect Trump about Flynn specifically.
08:11Obama warned Trump?
08:12About what?
08:13Expressed concerns.
08:14Which suggests the level of worry wasn't just partisan, it was within the national security establishment.
08:19Red flags about his judgment, maybe his foreign ties.
08:22And Flynn himself knew he was under investigation for his lobbying, right?
08:26He told the transition team's lawyers in January.
08:28Yes, reports indicate he did notify the transition council about the FARA investigation.
08:34So the incoming administration wasn't entirely in the dark about potential issues.
08:38Which makes you wonder why he was appointed anyway.
08:40That's a key question, isn't it?
08:41What was the risk calculation there?
08:43So during that very short tenure, besides the Russia stuff, what else was going on?
08:49There was criticism about conspiracy theories, meeting with that Austrian far-right leader.
08:54Heinz-Christian Strack, yes.
08:56And a significant policy decision, or rather a delay, telling Susan Rice not to proceed with the planned Raqqa invasion using Kurdish forces.
09:05Which lined up with what Turkey wanted.
09:06It did, aligning with Turkish objections.
09:09So even in that short time, you see potential policy shifts influenced by these relationships.
09:14But the thing that brought it all down was his contact with the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak.
09:19Absolutely.
09:19They had a history going back to 2013, but it was the calls during the transition, late December 2016, early January 2017, that were crucial.
09:29What were they talking about?
09:30Two main things, reportedly.
09:32A UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements, and the new sanctions the Obama administration had just imposed on Russia for election interference.
09:40And the problem wasn't just the calls themselves, but what Flynn said about the calls.
09:43Exactly.
09:44He reportedly urged Kislyak for Russia to have a measured response to the sanctions, not to escalate.
09:51But then he told Vice President Pence, and others, that he hadn't discussed sanctions.
09:57He misled Pence.
09:58Yes.
09:59And when the Washington Post broke the story, and eventually transcripts surfaced, it became clear he had discussed sanctions.
10:06That discrepancy was fatal.
10:07Which led to the FBI interview on January 24, 2017.
10:11Right.
10:12Where FBI agents interviewed him about the Kislyak calls.
10:15And according to later documents in his own plea, he made false statements to them denying he tried to influence the UN vote and misrepresenting the sanctions discussion.
10:24And wasn't there a warning from the acting Attorney General, Sally Yates?
10:27Yes.
10:27Yes.
10:28A crucial intervention.
10:30Yates went to the White House counsel, Don McGahn, and warned him that Flynn had misled Pence and others, and that the Russians knew he had misled them.
10:38Meaning he was potentially compromised.
10:41Vulnerable to blackmail.
10:42That was exactly Yates' concern.
10:44A major national security risk having someone in that position who could be blackmailed by Russia.
10:50And that seems to have been the final straw.
10:52He resigned on February 13th.
10:54Yep.
10:54Admitting he gave incomplete information about the Kislyak calls.
10:58End of the shortest NSA tenure ever.
11:00But, like you said, far from the end of the story, the investigations continued, even intensified.
11:06Right.
11:07We later heard about President Trump allegedly asking FBI Director Comey to let Flynn go.
11:12That infamous Oval Office meeting.
11:14Mm-hmm.
11:14And Flynn himself, through his lawyer, offered to testify to Congress if he got immunity.
11:19That was initially turned down.
11:20Then came the Mueller investigation.
11:22And they seemed to gather quite a bit on Flynn.
11:24By November 2017, reports suggested Mueller had enough to charge Flynn, and possibly his son, Michael Flynn Jr., related to the lobbying work.
11:34They also looked into that alleged plot involving Gulen.
11:38The kidnapping plot again.
11:39Yes.
11:40And Flynn's business partner, Bijan Kian, was also investigated, and later charged in relation to the Turkey lobbying.
11:46But Flynn himself ended up taking a deal, right?
11:49December 1st, 2017.
11:50He did.
11:51He pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI about the Kislyak conversations.
11:57As part of the deal, he agreed to cooperate fully with the Mueller investigation.
12:01Which seemed like a big moment.
12:02Acceptance of responsibility?
12:03Cooperation?
12:04It looked that way.
12:05But then things got complicated.
12:07His sentencing kept getting delayed.
12:09Why the delays?
12:09Multiple times.
12:10He cooperated extensively initially, but then his stance shifted.
12:15His lawyer started arguing the FBI had tricked him, entrapped him into lying.
12:20That they didn't warn him lying was a crime.
12:23Did Mueller's team buy that?
12:24Not at all.
12:25They strongly refuted those claims.
12:27Judge Emmett Sullivan, the sentencing judge, was also very critical of Flynn during one hearing, really dressed him down, but ultimately agreed to post-tone sentencing again to allow cooperation to finish.
12:38And there was something about communications from the administration during this period.
12:44A voicemail.
12:45Yeah.
12:45An unredacted court filing later revealed communications Flynn received from people linked to the administration or Congress, including a voicemail from Trump's personal lawyer that was seen by some as potentially suggesting a pardon if he stayed loyal.
12:59Then he fired his original lawyers.
13:01Yes.
13:01And hired Sidney Powell.
13:03Ah, Sidney Powell.
13:05Indeed.
13:06And her strategy was completely different.
13:08Aggressively alleging prosecutorial misconduct, demanding the case be thrown out, a total reversal from the guilty plea.
13:14Which led to that really extraordinary move by the Justice Department in May 2020.
13:19Under Attorney General Barr, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss its own case against Flynn.
13:24They argued the FBI interview wasn't based on a properly predicated investigation, that it was untethered.
13:30Even though Flynn had pleaded guilty.
13:32Twice.
13:33Exactly.
13:34It was highly unusual.
13:35The lead prosecutor on the case quit in protest.
13:38Judge Sullivan didn't immediately grant the dismissal.
13:41He appointed an amicus curiae, a friend of the court, to argue against it.
13:46It sparked a huge debate about political interference at DOJ.
13:49But before Judge Sullivan could rule on that motion...
13:52President Trump stepped in, November 25th, 2020.
13:56He granted Michael Flynn a full presidential pardon.
13:59Wiping the slate clean, legally speaking.
14:01Essentially, yes.
14:02It ended the criminal case.
14:04Judge Sullivan later formally dismissed the case, calling it moot because of the pardon.
14:08But he made clear he likely wouldn't have granted the DOJ's motion otherwise.
14:11So, the legal battle ends, but the controversy obviously doesn't.
14:16What has he been doing since leaving the administration and getting the pardon?
14:20He's remained very active, very public.
14:23He's used his profile for fundraising, paid speeches, selling merchandise online.
14:27He's involved with non-profits like the America Project and America's Future.
14:31There's been some scrutiny over those non-profits, hasn't there?
14:33Payments to family members, disclosure issues.
14:36Yes, questions have been raised about their finances and transparency.
14:39There was also a recent film, Flynn, which has been described as quite favorable to him,
14:44focusing on him fighting the deep state,
14:46but apparently not really touching on some of his more controversial views or statements.
14:53And his political views seem to have solidified, maybe even hardened.
14:55He switched from Democrat to Republican officially.
14:58Right.
14:58In 2021, his views on some things have varied, like abortion.
15:02But he's consistently pro-Israel and its current policies, strongly anti-Iran nuclear deal.
15:08And his views on Islam remain very stark.
15:12Calling it a political ideology, saying fear of Muslims is rational.
15:15Yes, that rhetoric has continued.
15:17He's associated with ACT for America, part of the counter-jihad movement.
15:21Those statements have drawn widespread criticism.
15:24And then there's the QAnon connection, which is quite something.
15:28It really is.
15:28In July 2020, he posted a video of himself and his family taking an oath that ended with
15:33where we go when we go all, the QAnon slogan.
15:36Wow.
15:36He actually took the oath.
15:38Publicly.
15:38He's promoted QAnon merchandise, started a digital soldiers media company echoing QAnon themes.
15:45Some followers even thought he might be Q.
15:47That's extraordinary for a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
15:51It's a stark contrast, isn't it?
15:53Embracing a demonstrably false and elaborate conspiracy theory after a career steeped in
15:58intelligence analysis, it raises profound questions.
16:01After the 2020 election, his rhetoric escalated even further, didn't it?
16:06Suggesting military intervention.
16:08He publicly floated the idea that Trump could, quote, suspend the Constitution and use military
16:14authority to hold a whole new election.
16:17Suspend the Constitution.
16:18Those were the reports of his suggestions.
16:20He reportedly met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss options to overturn the election.
16:25He later denied specifically discussing martial law in that meeting, but he definitely spoke
16:30at Stop the Steal Rally's pushing election fraud claims.
16:33These are direct challenges to democratic processes.
16:36Absolutely.
16:36Advocating for the military to intervene in an election is way outside constitutional norms.
16:41It alarmed many across the political spectrum.
16:45And even after Biden took office, he kept pushing misinformation about COVID vaccines.
16:51Yeah, he called the pandemic a distraction, said it was fabricated, claimed vaccines were
16:56unnecessary, linked them to conspiracy theories involving George Soros and Bill Gates.
17:01He's been a fixture on the Reawaken America tour.
17:04Making more controversial statements there, too.
17:06Yes.
17:06Things like suggesting the U.S. should have one religion under God.
17:11Interestingly, a text message leaked where he privately called QAnon a setup, but he hasn't
17:16publicly disavowed it or acknowledged Biden's win.
17:19So, a key figure in spreading election denialism.
17:22Undeniably.
17:23He played a central role.
17:24He was subpoenaed by the January 6th committee.
17:26Depleted the 5th.
17:27Invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.
17:30He's continued political organizing, though, trying to unify various right-wing factions, particularly
17:35election deniers.
17:37Involved in election integrity efforts, joined the local GOP committee in Florida.
17:41Yes, in Sarasota County.
17:43He testified before the Georgia grand jury investigating election interference, but wasn't
17:48indicted there.
17:49More recently, he's faced backlash for endorsing anti-Semitic tropes and for remarks about the
17:54Holocaust that the Auschwitz Memorial condemned.
17:57Yet Trump has suggested he might bring him back.
17:59Trump has floated that idea, yes.
18:02Flynn remains influential.
18:03He appeared with Alex Jones, made remarks about moving towards the sound of the guns for
18:07freedom, spoke at the Rod of Iron Ministries Festival with more inflammatory comments.
18:11And he's written books, too, laying out his worldview.
18:14Yes.
18:14Co-authored The Field of Fight about radical Islam and, more recently, The Citizen's Guide
18:19to Fifth Generation Warfare.
18:21They give you a sense of his strategic thinking, his threat perception.
18:24So, wrapping this up, it's just quite a trajectory, from decorated lieutenant general, head of the
18:30DIA, to all of this.
18:32It really is.
18:33You see these distinct phases.
18:35The respected military leader, the reformer turned insubordinate at DIA, the fiery political
18:41advisor, the shortest-serving NSA, the federal defendant, the pardoned ally, and now this
18:47hugely influential figure in right-wing, often conspiratorial movements.
18:53It really drives home how important it is to look at all the pieces, you know, the publicly
18:56available information, to try and understand such a complex public life.
19:00Absolutely.
19:00And it leaves us, and you listening, with a pretty challenging thought.
19:04How do you reconcile someone with Flynn's deep background in intelligence, national security,
19:10dealing with facts and analysis, with his later embrace of conspiracy theories, his rhetoric
19:14challenging democratic norms?
19:17What does his journey suggest about our current political moment, about trust, information,
19:21and maybe the pressures on individuals within that system?
19:24Definitely something to keep thinking about.