到目前为止，唐纳德·特朗普总统对于他是否会拯救迈克尔·弗林免于坐牢一直讳莫如深。

但特朗普轨道上的共和党和保守派人物——以及他自己的言论——因新文件的发布而爆发的公众压力运动，加剧了人们对他将赦免他的前国家安全顾问的猜测。

“来自右翼朋友的压力将是巨大的，”一名共和党国会高级助手告诉记者新闻周刊他的名字被隐瞒，因为他没有被授权公开谈论这个问题。"[·特朗普]可能不得不安抚民众."

联邦调查局官员在米勒调查中手写的关于如何继续调查弗林和他与俄罗斯人的联系的笔记周三被一名联邦法官启封，揭示了一场关于如何处理特朗普及其盟友叫屈的案件的内部辩论。

共和党人表示，证据证明，对俄罗斯选举干预的调查是针对特朗普的同伙进行的，并指向一张纸条，上面写道:“我们的目标是什么？真相/承认或让他撒谎，这样我们就可以起诉他或让他被解雇？”

弗林承认在2017年12月向联邦调查局撒谎，说他在竞选期间与当时的俄罗斯大使有过一次谈话。他还没有被判刑，等待司法部长威廉·巴尔下令对该案进行复审。司法部的律师在今年一月建议弗林在监狱里呆上六个月。

从共和党议员和保守派学者到右翼学者和福克斯新闻主持人，特朗普收到了一个统一的信息:弗林受到了冤枉。

2016年10月18日，在科罗拉多州大枢纽机场飞机库内的集会上，时任共和党总统候选人唐纳德·特朗普和退休的中将·迈克·弗林。

众议员马特·盖兹告诉记者:“我不认为迈克尔·弗林应该在监狱里呆一天。”新闻周刊在一次采访中，补充说弗林应该“被证明无罪，不管是通过司法程序还是赦免权”他拒绝透露他是否就此事与总统谈过。

参议员查克·格拉斯利(爱荷华州)在俄罗斯调查开始时担任司法委员会主席，他要求巴尔“干预”，“释放弗林”，并惩罚联邦调查局和检察官，而现任司法委员会主席林赛·格雷厄姆(共和党)说弗林“受到了惩罚”参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(共和党)。)告诉福克斯新闻，联邦调查局的文件“极其麻烦”，而且“很可能会对该局提出额外的指控”。参议员兰德·保罗。)称联邦调查局在Twitter上的记录是“恶劣和不可接受的行为”,并补充道“我相信⁦”@realDonaldTrump应该原谅弗林将军。"

福克斯新闻节目主持人肖恩·哈尼蒂在他周三晚上的节目中说，“我们现在非常接近正义”，但没有提供细节。福克斯商业频道的玛利亚·巴蒂罗姆本周早些时候在推特上写道，消息来源告诉她弗林“将被完全无罪释放”

特朗普的大儿子小唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump Jr .)周三在推特上表示，“不仅应该立即撤销对弗林将军的指控，而且陷害他的叛国演员也应该进监狱！！！”

乔治·华盛顿大学(George Washington University)宪法学教授乔纳森·特里(Jonathan Turley)在众议院针对这些文章的弹劾调查中作证，他在推特上写道，“对于那些长期以来一直认为特朗普政府是众矢之的的人来说，这个记录片段读起来就像是一个深海国家阴谋的卷轴。”这引起了特朗普的注意，他转发了特里。在随后的帖子中，特利称联邦调查局的策略是“我见过的最残忍的记录之一”。最令人担忧的是，他们试图制造犯罪，而不是调查犯罪。”

这不是特朗普第一次嘲笑赦免他四面楚歌的前官员。今年3月，他在推特上表示，他“强烈考虑”赦免。但是对于一个总统来说，他在整个任期内的言论和政策立场经常反映出他身边的人和他在福克斯新闻上看到的内容，公众对那些听他的人赦免弗林的推动是压倒性的。

2019年6月24日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的前国家安全顾问迈克尔·弗林离开位于DC华盛顿的美国法院大楼。

在文件披露后的24小时内，特朗普的推特账户上出现了大量帖子和转发。

“他们折磨他。他们毁了他。但他会变得更大更好，”特朗普周四在白宫告诉记者。“我根本不必置身事外，但我喜欢置身事外。”

共和党战略家苏珊·德尔·珀西奥告诉记者新闻周刊看起来特朗普似乎在“竭尽全力赦免弗林”

“总统想制造另一个虚假的故事来转移美国人民的注意力。这是行不通的，”她在一条短信中争辩道。“Covid-19现在和未来几年，人们的财务都会受到影响。他的烟雾和镜子卡车会倒下。”

但随着新证据的出现，又有了新的披露，比如美国联邦调查局担心特朗普白宫可能会觉得该机构在“玩游戏”，如果他们试图掩盖自己询问弗林的理由的话。“如果我们被视为在玩游戏，WH会非常生气，”笔记上写道。“通过不玩游戏来保护我们的机构。”

周四被问及是否会考虑让弗林重返政府时，特朗普的回答是肯定的。“我认为他是个好人。我认为他们对他的所作所为太可怕了，”总统在白宫告诉记者。“我当然会考虑。”

就此而言，盖兹也拒绝就弗林是否应该有一份工作等着他提出建议。“我在立法部门工作，”特朗普的密友说。“我不在行政部门做人力资源。”

这篇报道经过更新，增加了苏珊·德尔·珀西奥、特朗普总统和保罗参议员的评论。

TRUMP'S CLOSEST ALLIES ARE PUBLICLY PRESSURING HIM TO PARDON MICHAEL FLYNN

President Donald Trump has so far been coy about whether he'll save Michael Flynn from doing time behind bars.

But the public pressure campaign that's erupted from Republican and conservative figures in Trump's orbit—as well as his own remarks—from the release of new documents has fueled speculation he will grant his former national security adviser a pardon.

"The pressure from the right-wing friends is going to be massive," a senior Republican congressional aide told Newsweek, whose name is being withheld because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. "[Trump] might have to appease the base."

FBI officials' handwritten notes from the Mueller investigation on how to proceed with the probe into Flynn and his contacts with Russians that were unsealed by a federal judge Wednesday revealed an internal debate over how to handle the case that has Trump and his allies crying foul.

Republicans say the evidence proves the probe into Russian election interference was conducted with malice against Trump associates, pointing to one of the notes that reads: "What is our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"

Flynn pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI in December 2017 about a conversation he had during the campaign with the then-Russian ambassador. He's yet to be sentenced, pending a review of the case ordered by Attorney General William Barr. Attorneys for the Justice Department recommended in January of this year that Flynn spend up to six months in jail.

From Republican lawmakers and conservative pundits to right-leaning scholars and Fox News hosts, Trump has received a unified message: Flynn was wronged.

 

Then-Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump and retired Lieutenant General Mike Flynn at a rally inside an aircraft hangar, Grand Junction, Colorado, October 18, 2016.

"I do not believe that Michael Flynn should serve one day in jail," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told Newsweek in an interview, adding Flynn should be "exonerated, whether that be through the judicial process or the pardon power." He declined to say whether he's spoken with the president about the matter.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who served as the Judiciary Committee chairman when the Russia probe was launched, has demanded Barr to "intervene," "#FREE FLYNN" and to punish the FBI and prosecutors while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the current Judiciary chairman, said Flynn "got railroaded." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Fox News the FBI documents were "extremely troubling" and that it "could well warrant additional charges against" the bureau. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called the FBI notes "egregious and unacceptable behavior" on Twitter, adding "I believe ⁦@realDonaldTrump should pardon Gen. Flynn."

Fox News Host Sean Hannity said on his Wednesday night program that "we're very close now" to reaching justice but did not provide details. Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business wrote on Twitter earlier this week that sources told her Flynn "will be completely exonerated."

Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted Wednesday that, "Not only should general Flynn's charges be dropped immediately but the treasonous actors who set him up should be in jail!!!"

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University constitutional law professor who testified in the House's impeachment inquiry against the articles, wrote on Twitter that "for those who have long seen a concerted effort to target the Trump Administration, the record fragment will read like a deep sea scroll of a deep state conspiracy." It caught the eye of Trump, who retweeted Turley. In a subsequent post, Turley called the FBI's tactics "one of the most thuggish records I have seen. Most concerning is that they were trying to create a crime, not investigating a crime."

This is not the first time Trump has teased a pardon for his embattled former official. In March, he tweeted he was "strongly considering" a pardon. But for a president whose rhetoric and policy stances throughout his tenure have frequently mirrored those close to him and the content he views on Fox News, the public push from those who have his ear to pardon Flynn is overwhelming.

 

President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse on June 24, 2019 in Washington, DC.

A barrage of posts and retweets have emanated from Trump's Twitter account in the last 24 hours since the documents were revealed.

"They tormented him. They destroyed him. But he's going to come back bigger and better," Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. "I don't have to stay out of it at all, but I like to stay out of it."

Republican strategist Susan Del Percio told Newsweek it appeared as though Trump is "chomping at the bit to pardon Flynn."

"The president wants to create another false narrative to distract the American people. It will not work," she argued in a text message. "People are now, and will be for years, financially affected by Covid-19. His smoke and mirrors trucks will fall flat."

But with the new evidence came additional revelations, such as that the FBI's concern the Trump White House may feel the agency was "playing games" if they tried to shield their reasoning for questioning Flynn. "If we're seen as playing games, WH will be furious," the notes said. "Protect our institution by not playing games."

Asked Thursday whether he would consider bringing Flynn back into the administration, Trump responded in the affirmative. "I think he's a fine man. I think it's terrible what they did to him," the president told reporters at the White House. "I would certainly consider it."

Gaetz, for that matter, also declined to offer his advice on if Flynn should have a job awaiting him. "I work in the Legislative Branch," the Trump confidant said. "I don't do HR in the Executive Branch."

This story was updated to include additional remarks by Susan Del Percio, President Trump and Sen. Paul.