During Tuesday’s January 6th committee hearing, Rep. Liz Cheney played a brief clip of Flynn implicitly acknowledging to the committee that he was just fine with the January 6th violence and that he doesn’t believe in the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.
The admission from Flynn is particularly disturbing given that he’s a retired Army lieutenant general who once led the Defense Intelligence Agency and later became the former national security adviser for Donald Trump. But even though we know he was all in on overturning the 2020 election and has a suspicious fondness for Russia, it’s shocking to see him all but admit he supports a violent coup in our country.
In the video, Cheney asked Flynn if he believes the January 6th violence was justified. Almost anyone with a patriotic bone in their body would have answered with a quick “no.” But Flynn asked for clarification as to whether that was a “moral question” or a “legal question.”
Cheney said she was asking about both. Then she asked about the moral and legal matters individually. Flynn invoked the Fifth Amendment, the right not to incriminate himself, each time.
Finally, Cheney asked, “General Flynn, do you believe in the peaceful transition of power in the United States of America?”
Flynn replied, “The Fifth.”
Cheney looked gobsmacked.
