Michael Flynn faced 'political persecution of the highest order'

* Michael Flynn, 61, said his prosecution was 'political persecution of the highest order' during a Fox News interview on Thursday

* Flynn praised President Trump for pardoning him and described a justice system that was 'just not going to function properly'

* He claimed his prosecution was a 'set-up' and blamed the Obama administration

* Flynn echoed the Trump campaign's repeated allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election

Former national security advisor Mike Flynn said that he faced 'political persecution of the highest order' prior to his pardon from President Trump.

One week after he was pardoned, Flynn addressed his freedom and persecution during Fox News' 'Lou Dobbs Tonight' on Thursday.

Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts during the Trump administration's transition, described a faulty justice system at play.

'As my family and I, particularly my wife and I talked about it and honestly prayed over it, we came to the conclusion that this was the right moment in time to do this -- that the justice system that we were facing was just not going to function properly,' Flynn, 61, said.

'And it was very, very obvious that that was going to be the case.'

The pardon appeared to put an end to Flynn's drawn-out court proceedings, in which his legal team attempted to convince District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan to drop its prosecution against him at the Justice Department's request.

Attorney Sidney Powell, who represents Flynn, had previously asked Trump not to pardon her client amid her efforts to get the case dismissed.

'So, you know, we went and made the decision that this was the direction that we wanted to go and good enough for President Donald Trump for coming through, and we’re certainly grateful to him,' said Flynn said on Fox News.

'But at the same time, we also know that this was a political persecution of the highest order and not something that any American should ever have to go through.'

Federal prosecutors at first sought leniency, but ultimately sought up to six months in jail time after Flynn asserted prosecutorial misconduct and would later seek to reverse his plea.

Even after Flynn's change of course, Judge Sullivan sought to probe the issue and brought on an outside advocate to make the case after the government no longer sought prosecution.

He had yet to issue a final decision on the matter.

Flynn on Thursday heaped praise onto Trump for granting his 'pardon of innocence' while placing blame for his persecution on the Obama administration.

'I think at the end of the day, people want me to say something or, you know, for years, you know, do you — are you upset with President Trump? Are you upset with the White House? And the answer is no — and the reason why [is] because this was a setup from the beginning, and it really — where accountability lies is it lies in the previous administration,' Flynn told Fox News.

Flynn took direct aim at former President Obama, who reportedly warned Trump about him during a 90-minute conversation after the 2016 election, per Politico.

'It’s interesting that the only transition conversation that President Obama had with President Trump, he only talked about two people: one was dear leader Kim Jong-Un and that other was General Mike Flynn,' he said.

'It’s laughable, but it’s also very, very serious. And I would like someone with some guts, because I’ll ask him if I ever see him, is why? Why was he so afraid, why was he so fearful and why did he mention that to Donald Trump is public enemy number one?'

According to the report, Obama and other officials believed Flynn was 'problematic' and had concerns regarding his management of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Lastly, Flynn weighed in the Trump campaign's continued attempts to reverse 2020 election results after Joe Biden was named President-elect last month.

Flynn said that he's assisted in the campaign's efforts as they decry alleged widespread voter fraud. Trump's legal team has brought up lawsuits, but no court has found any evidence of ille... (Read more)

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