TULSA, Okla. — Lt. General Michael Flynn made a stop in Tulsa this week.
While in town, the former national security advisor sat down with 2 Works for You for an exclusive interview about his time in the White House and what it was like serving under former President Donald Trump.
Flynn spent over 33 years serving our country, has operated at the highest level of our intelligence community, faced some of the biggest trials personally and professionally, and is considered by some a controversial figure.
Flynn is no stranger to scrutiny. He served under the Trump administration before resigning for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his work with a Russian ambassador.
Following an intense investigation, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and the Justice Department dismissed the case against him. On November 25, 2020, President Trump issued him a presidential pardon.
READ MORE: Trump pardons former advisor who pled guilty to lying to FBI
After everything he has been through, you would think that Flynn would be bitter, but he's not. He told 2 Works for You he's proud of his time serving his country in the White House.
“For me, that was a very exciting time in my life. I can't look back on it and be scornful or vindictive,” Flynn said. "I look at it as an experience, and I think the country saw something and experienced something that was unprecedented and never happened before in our country.”
Flynn said he never expected to get back into government.
“As a person who served nearly 34 years in the Army and five of those years in combat, going back into government was not something I thought I was going to do," he said. "I didn’t really care for politics, and I don’t really care for politics today, but I do care for this country."
Then, Trump came into his life.
“Then in the summer of 2015 at that time he was just Mr. Trump, we connected, and we hit it off really well," Flynn said. "We had the same theme in common, and that was what was best for America.”
While Trump is both adored and scorned, Flynn said he is also very misunderstood.
“I would introduce him at different events as the most imperfect guy you are ever going to vote for for President of the United States," he said. "If you want your political person to be perfect, then you are in the wrong country."
Trump asked Flynn to serve as his national security advisor and was sworn in on January 22, 2017. Flynn later resigned after information came out that he misled Vice President Pence about his work with a Russian ambassador to the U.S.
2 Works for You asked Flynn what he believes went wrong during that time. He said he feels like he was used to taking down President Trump.
“What went wrong was the illegal nature of the spying by the previous administration to the Trump administration," Flynn said. "It’s all fact, and it’s all out there on the table now. It was one big effort to unseat a dually-elected president."
During this time, Flynn said that his faith and his family were what got him through it all.
“My family was really my strength, and we use the phrase, fight like a Flynn," he said. "If you take on one of us, then you take on all of us."
In May of 2020, the Justice Department dismissed the case against him. Then in November of 2020, he was issued a presidential pardon of innocence by President Trump.
A pardon of innocence is a pardon based on the innocence that exonerates a person of the crime and erases the conviction when there is evidence of actual innocence, or a court has determined that the person is innocent. But it was a pardon that Flynn said he didn't want because his whole case was already dismissed back in May of 2020.
“So, six months prior, the case was dismissed because there was no predicate," he said. "It was based on a complete lie. All of the information surrounding it was false."
Even though his case was dismissed and he received a presidential pardon, Flynn still faces another obstacle. The Army is now reviewing his case which could bring a financial penalty, but Fynn said he isn't concerned.
“I think that’s just a little bit of housecleaning,” Flynn said.
At this time, both Flynn and his wife are planning a move to Florida to spend more time with their grandchildren. Despite everything he has been through, he said he will never stop fighting for this country.
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