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Donald Trump insists 'no collusion' after Michael Flynn admits lying to FBI and agrees to co-operate with Russia probe Donald Trump insists 'no collusion' after Michael Flynn admits lying to FBI and agrees to co-operate with Russia probe
(about 1 hour later)
President Donald Trump has said that there was “absolutely no collusion” between his election campaign and Russia, in his first comments over a guilty plea by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn in connection with the Russia investigation.President Donald Trump has said that there was “absolutely no collusion” between his election campaign and Russia, in his first comments over a guilty plea by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn in connection with the Russia investigation.
Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contact with Russian officials and had agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into election meddling by Moscow and possible collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign team. Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contact with then-Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak about sanctions and a UN vote over Israel, and had agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign team.
Mr Trump spoke as he departed the White House to head to New York for fundraisers expected to raise millions of dollars. He added that he was "not worried" about what Mr Flynn might tell investigators as he cooperates with the probe. “What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion," Mr Trump spoke as he departed the White House to head to New York for political fundraisers expected to raise millions of dollars. "There’s been absolutely no collusion, so we’re very happy.
He added that he was "not worried" about what Mr Flynn might tell investigators as he cooperates with the probe, but said “We’ll see what happens”.
Mr Flynn is the first official within the Trump administration to have be charged in relation to the investigation, but is the fourth person connected to the Trump campaign .Mr Flynn is the first official within the Trump administration to have be charged in relation to the investigation, but is the fourth person connected to the Trump campaign .
In October, Mr Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his associate Rick Gates, were charged with 12 counts of financial crimes related to their work in Ukraine. At the same time, Mr Mueller revealed foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos, had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia-linked individuals - a similar charge that Mr Flynn admitted to as part of the plea deal. In October, Mr Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his associate Rick Gates, were charged with 12 counts of financial crimes related to their work in Ukraine. At the same time, Mr Mueller revealed foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos, had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia-linked individuals - a similar charge that Mr Flynn admitted to as part of the plea deal. 
But, Mr Flynn's plea agreement is a milestone for Mr Mueller's team, that  The federal probe led by Mr Mueller had started as an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, but expanded to include possible collusion between Trump officials and Russia. The investigation was originally led by FBI director James Comey, before he was fired by Mr Trump in May.
More follows… But, Mr Flynn's plea agreement is a milestone for Mr Mueller's team, that brings the investigation into the White House and shines the spotlight on other members of Mr Trump's transition team as he moved into the White House.
Under a plea bargain deal, Mr Flynn admitted in a Washington court on Friday that he lied when asked by FBI investigators about his conversations with Mr Kislyak in December 2016, in the weeks before Mr Trump took office.
Prosecutors said that on 29 December, the two men discussed US sanctions against Russia, which former President Barack Obama had just imposed over the alleged election meddling by the Kremlin. In another communication on 22 December Mr Flynn also asked Mr Kislyak to help delay or vote down a UN vote over condemnation of settlement building seen as damaging to Israel.
Court papers made public as part of Mr Flynn's plea deal make clear that senior officials for Mr Trump's transition were fully aware of Mr Flynn's contact with Russian officials, and helped to direct those communications.
They said a “very senior member” of Mr Trump's transition team had told Mr Flynn to contact Russia and other foreign governments to try to influence them ahead of the UN vote. The official was not named in court papers, but a number of reports in the US media have suggested it is Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and the president's son-in-law. It is believed that Mr Kushner was one of a number of transition team officials who were active in looking to react to the UN vote.
Mr Kushner's legal team has previously said that Mr Kushner has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and would continue to do so.
On 29 December, Mr Flynn asked Mr Kislyak to refrain from escalating a diplomatic dispute with Washington over the sanctions, and later falsely told FBI officials that he did not make that request, the court documents show.
Prosecutors said Flynn had earlier consulted with a "senior member" of Trump's presidential transition team about what to communicate to the Russian ambassador, adding that Mr Flynn then called the Trump official again to recount the conversation with Mr Kislyak.
They did not name the senior official in the Trump team, but US media reports identified former adviser K.T. McFarland as the person.
On Friday, the White House had seemed to try and keep Mr Trump away from the news, with a statement coming from Ty Cobb, a White House attorney, which said Mr Flynn's guilty plea implicated him alone. 
“Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn,” Mr Cobb said. He added that the plea means that the Russia probe could now end.
Mr Flynn, who was interviewed by the FBI days after Mr Trump's inauguration, was forced to resign on 13 February following news reports indicating that the Trump White House had been warned by Obama administration officials that he had discussed sanctions with Mr Kislyak and was therefore compromised and potentially vulnerable to blackmail. 
White House officials including Vice President Pence, who had previously declared publicly that Mr Flynn had not discussed sanctions, said they had been misled by the national security adviser. 
Mr Flynn had been an enthusiastic supporter of Mr Trump during the  campaign and the president continued to praise him even after he left the administration, saying Mr Flynn had been treated “very, very unfairly” by the news media.
In Russia, where legislators have been watching the case with interest, Senator Alexey Pushkov said Mr Flynn's case was being "hyped".
“In the United States they continue to inflate a 'sack of smoke,' ” he tweeted. “Now they are hyping up the... empty 'Flynn case' ”.