Retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn announced on Friday that he had accepted the position of national security adviser, formally known as the assistant to the President for national security affairs (APNSA). The role does not require a Senate confirmation.
President-elect Donald Trump relied heavily on Flynn, a three-star general with 33 years of experience in the military, during his campaign, and had considered Flynn for the running mate job before selecting Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana. Flynn, 57, remained extremely loyal to Trump and has been rewarded for it. Along with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Flynn was present on Thursday when Trump met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.
As national security adviser, Flynn will offer daily national security briefings to the president, among other duties. Here's what you need to know about Flynn:
1. He is a registered Democrat.
Raised in Rhode Island, Flynn comes from "an Irish Catholic family of blue-collar Democrats," according to Politico, and was a lifelong Democrat before throwing his support behind the Republican candidate. "I grew up as a Democrat in a very strong Democratic family, he told ABC, "but I will tell you that Democratic party that exists in this country is not the Democratic party that I grew up around in my upbringing."
2. He had an impressive military career.
Flynn joined the Army in 1981. He served in Afghanistan and Iraq as the director of intelligence for Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which includes unites like SEAL Team 6. He was then the director of intelligence for the United States Central Command and the director of intelligence for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, helping to dismantle al-Qaeda networks. President Barack Obama nominated him to be the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency — the CIA of the Pentagon — in 2012.
3. He was ousted from his role as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014.
Flynn was forced to resign after two years in his post, pushed out by the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and the director of national intelligence.
He wrote in the New York Post that he had been trying to "change the culture of DIA." Flynn added, "After being fired, I left the meeting thinking, 'Here we are in the middle of a war, I had a significant amount of combat experience (nearly five years) against this determined enemy on the battlefield and served at senior levels, and here it was, the bureaucracy was letting me go.' Amazing."
Meanwhile, leaked emails revealed that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had asked why the now "right-wing nutty" Flynn was fired. "Abusive with staff, didn't listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc." Powell wrote.
Shortly after leaving the DIA, Flynn became a vocal critic of Obama. This was looked upon with disapproval by former colleagues. According to Vox, there is a direct connection between his "enmity towards Obama and Clinton" and "his abrupt dismissal from the DIA." He told Foreign Policy, "I'm not going to be a general that just fades away."
4. After getting fired, he started a consulting firm called Flynn Intel Group, which is now the source of numerous conflicts of interest.
Flynn started getting classified national security briefings over the summer while he was still consulting international clients on intelligence matters, according to Yahoo News. Flynn Intel Group also appears to be lobbying for the Turkish government, and has reportedly been paid thousands of dollars for it. Flynn is also an ally of Palantir, the data analysis company co-founded by Peter Thiel, the Republican billionaire who took down Gawker and gave $1.25 million to the Trump campaign.
In a letter addressed to Vice President-elect Pence, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote, "Lt. Gen. Flynn's involvement in advising Mr. Trump on matters relating to Turkey or Russia — including attending classified briefings on those matters — could violate the Trump for America, Inc. Code of Ethical Conduct ..." which promises that individuals working with Trump will "disqualify" themselves should there be any conflicts of interest.
5. Early in the race, he advised five Republican presidential candidates before siding with Trump.
Flynn said that he had spoken to Carly Fiorina, Scott Walker, Ben Carson Ted Cruz, and Trump but was ultimately most impressed with Trump, someone who, like himself, he sees as an outsider who speaks bluntly. "This is a guy that provides a different vision, a different way to solve problems, a different leadership style, and a sense of change that I believe that a majority of people in this country are really starting to look at," he told CNN.
After the election, Flynn was ecstatic. "We just went through a revolution," he said. "This is probably the biggest election in our nation's history, since bringing on George Washington when he decided not to be a king."
6. He encouraged a "lock her up" chant while speaking at the Republican National Convention.
Like Trump, Flynn has been highly critical of Hillary Clinton's emails. "I have called on Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race because she — she — put our nation's security at extremely high risk with her careless use of a private email server," he said. "Lock her up. Lock her up! Damn right. Exactly right. There's nothing wrong with that!"
On two separate occasions, the FBI concluded that Clinton should not face criminal prosecution for her use of her private email server, but Trump has not conclusively said that he would drop the possibility of prosecuting Clinton. The Democratic lawyer Richard Ben-Veniste told the New York Times that such action "would be mimicking the tin-pot dictators of historical disgrace who seek to punish those who have run against them."
7. Military officials condemn Flynn's partisanship.
Adm. Michael Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Washington Post in a statement that Flynn's behavior in the election broke code (Mullen was equally critical of Clinton supporter retired Marine Corps General John Allen). "For retired senior officers to take leading and vocal roles as clearly partisan figures is a violation of the ethos and professionalism of apolitical military service." Two retired officers told Vox that they found Flynn to be "unhinged."
8. He has made numerous Islamophobic statements.
In an interview with Al Jazeera in May, Flynn did not denounce Trump's Muslim ban, but he did say that "There must be more precision in the use of the language that he uses as the potential leader of the free world."
For his part, Flynn has broadly painted Islam as "a cancer" and has said that "Islam is a political ideology masked behind a religion," shoehorning the world's 1.6 billion Muslims together in language that The Intercept described as showing a "lack of precision," the very critique Flynn had of Trump.
Flynn strongly believes that "radical Islamic terrorism" is the single biggest threat to Americans. He is the co-author of a book called The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies. In another Al Jazeera interview, Flynn said, "I've been at war with Islam, or a, or a component of Islam, for the last decade." He tweeted in February that "fear of Muslims is RATIONAL" and though the tweet has been repeatedly criticized, Flynn has not backtracked or taken it down.
Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL: please forward this to others: the truth fears no questions... youtu.be/tJnW8HRHLLw
9. He hates "political correctness."
"Political correctness kills. It will cause death, and we can’t have that," he said on Fox & Friends in September. Flynn has also said, "My God, war is not about bathrooms. War is not about political correctness or words that are meaningless. War is about winning."
10. His position on torture is just shy of an endorsement.
Flynn was once against waterboarding, but has softened his stance since aligning with Trump, who has said that he would allow waterboarding and that "torture works, OK, folks?" Flynn claims that as an intelligence officer in Iraq, he helped end abusive interrogation practices. "We were going by the book," he told The Intercept.
But instead of renouncing the use of torture or the committing of war crimes, Flynn said this about Trump's statements: "Here's what a guy like Donald Trump is doing: He's basically saying, 'Hey, look, all options are on the table,' and being very unpredictable in the face of a very determined enemy." Human Rights Watch says that Flynn shows "a stunning contempt for the Geneva Conventions and other laws prohibiting torture."
11. He appears to be cozy with Russia and Vladimir Putin.
"Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security," the Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, Jr. said in July during his confirmation to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In an interview with NPR, Flynn seemed to agree, saying that enemies of the United States included, "certainly, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, countries like Cuba, certainly China."
Yet Flynn traveled to Moscow on a paid trip in 2015, appearing on RT, Russia's state-run news organization. He likened RT to CNN. "It was a paid speaking opportunity," Flynn told the Washington Post. "I get paid so much." Flynn was seated very close to Putin at a gala, and called the symbolism of it "boring," saying that he "didn't have any problem" with the optics. According to Politico in May, Flynn had continued to make "semi-regular appearances on RT as an analyst."
12. He used to be pro-choice but flip-flopped immediately after his views were criticized by conservatives.
Flynn said on ABC that "Abortion, I think for women, these are difficult issues. I think that's a difficult legal decision, and I think that women are so important in that decision-making process. They are the ones that have to make the decision because they are the ones that will decide to bring up that child or not."
He later "clarified" to Fox News that he was a "pro-life Democrat" and that "I believe the law should be changed."
13. He had to apologize for a sexist dress code presentation that went out to employees while he was at the DIA.
In January 2013, DIA employees were provided a presentation on dress code (obtained by MuckRock through a Freedom of Information request). Male and female employees were advised on how to "look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp" in their professional appearance. But there was a sexist bent to the section for women. "Do not advocate the 'Plain Jane' look," the presentation said. "Makeup helps women look more attractive." It also said that women should "consider your body type" when choosing clothing, and "accentuate the positive/disguise the negative."
Flynn later apologized in an email to his staff. "I've now seen [the presentation] and I too find it highly offensive," he said. He listed what it really takes to be successful (makeup was not on there) and said that "Neither the agency nor I condone this briefing and I only hope the intention to execute this task was pure of heart and intended to help ... but even smart people do dumb things sometimes."
14. Flynn and his son have been accused of being racist, sexist conspiracy theorists who love fake news.
CNN reported on Thursday that Flynn's son, Michael G. Flynn, has a tendency to post bogus news stories and bigoted statements on social media. The younger Flynn works for Flynn Intel Group and is his father's chief of staff, according to CNN.
"Unfortunately, only reason minorities voted for BO is the color of his skin and NOT for the issues," he wrote in a tweet during the 2012 election. He reportedly deleted the post after CNN asked him to comment, but the news outlet captured the tweet in a screenshot before it got taken down.
CNN also pointed out that the younger Flynn wrote on Facebook in early November that Gloria Allred was a "commie" trying to "get the heat off the witch."
Son and father seemingly have this quality in common. While at the DIA, Flynn was "so prone to dubious pronouncements," according to the Washington Post, that these statements had a name: "Flynn facts." Business Insider reported that Lt. Gen. Flynn has promoted conspiracies that Hillary Clinton was involved in "sex crimes with children" and "money laundering." He also suggested that Hillary Clinton had conspired with Jews in an anti-Semitic tweet (he retweeted the statement "Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore") that he later deleted and apologized for.
15. FLYNN TOLD WOMEN IN HIS OFFICE TO WEAR MAKEUP, HEELS, AND SKIRTS.
Women in the Defense Intelligence Agency were told to monitor their levels of makeup, avoid flats, and err on the side of skirts and dresses when the organization was run by Flynn. Yes, that happened.
