Michael Flynn, a retired Lieutenant General of the U.S. Army, served as National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump of the United States. Nonetheless, since the beginning of the investigation into Russian collaboration with the Trump campaign during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, his name has become more popular in this regard than in any other matter. Beyond his professional life and his involvement in the entire Russian saga, there are things that should be known about him.
Michael Flynn Bio
The former National Security Advisor was born Michael Thomas Flynn in December 1958 in Middletown, Rhode Island. He is of Irish descent and was raised by his parents, Helen Frances and Charles Francis Flynn, together with eight siblings.
While his father also served as a sergeant in the army, his mother placed more emphasis on education than any other thing in raising her children in the Catholic family.
Flynn was an athletic child who played a variety of sports including basketball, soccer, and surfing. In 1976 he led his high school to a Division B state soccer championship. Although he was not a big kid, he still played in college as a defensive guard and linebacker on a team where most people were taller than he was. Nevertheless, he was co-captain of the team, mainly because he was considered a team leader.
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Education And Professional Life
For his education, Michael Flynn attended Middletown High School and from there he transferred to the University of Rhode Island, where he enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and graduated in Management Science in 1981.
He then went to Golden Gate University, where he earned a Master of Business Administration in Telecommunications. He also attended the United States Army Staff and General Staff Academy and the Naval Academy, graduating with a Master of Military Art and Science and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies, respectively.
In 1981, he was appointed Second Lieutenant of the U.S. Army. He served until 2014, when he retired as a Lieutenant General in the Army and received numerous awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, 4 Defense Superior Service Medal, 2 Legion of Merit, and 4 Bronze Star Medal.
After his retirement, Flynn founded a consulting firm known as Flynn Intel Group Inc. The company has worked with many international companies, including Inovo BV – a Turkish company.
In February 2016 Flynn was appointed as a consultant for the Trump campaign and in July he was considered as Donald Trump’s vice candidate even before the election of the then Indian Governor Mike Pence.
After his election victory, Donald Trump appointed Michael Flynn as his national security advisor, even after President Obama warned him not to do so at a White House meeting before Trump’s inauguration. In addition, there were reports that had already linked Flynn to Russia at the time.
Michael Flynn was forced to resign as National Security Advisor in February 2017 after it was discovered that he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with the Russians. After his resignation, Donald Trump met with then-FBI Director James Comey and told him that he wished he could let Flynn go as “a good guy.
Wife And Son
As interesting as his professional history is, as interesting is his love life. Already in 1982, he married Lori Andrade. Flynn and his wife first met when they were both students at Middletown High School in Rhode Island. They had known each other since their sophomore year and did not start dating until their senior year.
The marriage was blessed with two children: Michael Flynn Jr. and Matt Flynn. Like his father, Michael Flynn Jr. is under investigation and there has been speculation that he may be charged in the investigation. There were reports that the elder Flynn was warned that his son might be charged, and this prompted him to make a deal in the criminal case and even cooperate with the investigators.
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However, according to the younger Flynn, his father decided to make a deal in the criminal case only because of the financial burden that the case would place on the family.
How Is Michael Flynn Connected To Russia?
Even before Donald’s victory in the 2016 election, his campaign team had already conducted a study of his contacts with Russia, which are said to have influenced the election after the election. This led to Robert Mueller being commissioned to investigate the collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign team during the election.
Among those who were at the center of contact with the Russians was Flynn, who met with the Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. He would not only lie to the vice president about it, but also to the investigators.
Later, however, he would ask for a deal in criminal proceedings and then plead guilty to making false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements to the FBI regarding his contact with Kislyak.