President Donald Trump predicted Thursday at the White House that General Michael Flynn will be exonerated after reports detailed FBI notes showing that agents were trying to trick him into lying to them in an interview.
“He’s in the process of being exonerated if you look at those notes from yesterday. That was total exoneration,” Trump said. “These were dirty, filthy cops at the top of the FBI.”
Trump said newly released FBI documents from Flynn’s case helped proved his innocence.
“Look at what they did to the guy. He couldn’t have known too much what was happening. They came at him with 15 buses, and he’s standing in the middle of the highway,” Trump said.
CNN’s Jim Acosta asked Trump about Flynn during a White House Oval Office meeting with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. That prompted the president to demand that CNN not only “apologize” for tormenting the general, but also cover the new documents fairly.
“Jim, what they did to him is terrible, and I hope that CNN’s going to give him a fair shake and cover it,” Trump said.
Trump praised Flynn’s years of service to the country in the United States military.
“You don’t get to be where he is by being bad; that, I can tell you,” he said.
When asked if he regretted firing Flynn, Trump said he wished he would have had the information about the FBI trying to force him to lie.
“What they did to Gen. Flynn and others was a disgrace,” he said.
Trump said he had read that even more documents will come out proving Flynn’s innocence, but he had already seen enough.
“He’s essentially exonerated. Now, that’s not official yet, but when you read the notes, how could you do anything else?” Trump asked.