Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, texted a former business partner during Trump’s inauguration in January saying that sanctions against Russia were about to be “ripped up”, according to a US congressman.
An unnamed colleague of the text message’s recipient informed the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ oversight and government reform committee, Elijah Cummings, who published the claims in an open letter yesterday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Their work had previously been held up by “US economic sanctions against Russia, which was to supply the reactors for the proposed project”, the BBC reports.
Flynn allegedly sent the messages to Alex Copson, managing partner of ACU Strategic Partners, a US nuclear power consultancy.
Copson reportedly told the whistleblower that he “just got this text message” from Flynn, saying that the project was “good to go” and directing Copson to contact business colleagues to “let them know to put things in place”.
“Mike has been putting everything in place for us,” Copson reportedly told the whistleblower. “This is going to make a lot of wealthy people.”
Before joining the Trump campaign, “Flynn had worked on a business venture to partner with Russia to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East until June 2016, but remained close with the people involved afterward,” The New York Times.
-
Shohei Ohtani is caught in a financial controversy — againIn the Spotlight The controversy concerns Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo
-
A descent into academic Hell, a ferocious feminist fable and the adult debut of a beloved children's authorThe Week Recommends August books include R.F. Kuang's 'Katabasis,' Xenobe Purvis' 'The Hounding' and Louis Sachar's 'The Magician of Tiger Castle'
-
What is an upside-down car loan and how do you get out of it?the explainer This happens when the outstanding balance on a car loan exceeds the vehicle's worth
-
Alcatraz: America's most infamous prisonThe Explainer Donald Trump wants to re-open notorious 'escape-proof' jail for 'most ruthless and violent prisoners' in the US
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threatSpeed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 yearsSpeed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year
-
Police ID driver of exploded Cybertruck, can't see motiveSpeed Read An Army Green Beret detonated a homemade bomb in a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
-
FBI: US violent crime falls again, hits pre-Covid levelsSpeed Read A wide-ranging report found that violent crime dropped 3% in the last year, while murder dropped 11.6%
-
Judge rejects Trump bid to make NY case federalSpeed Read Judge Alvin Hellerstein refused Trump's motion to transfer his criminal case to federal court
-
Trump ally Bannon reports to prisonSpeed Read He will serve a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress
-
Trump won't testify as trial enters final phaseSpeed Read Despite his public insistence on testifying, Trump's defense team called two witnesses, "neither of them the former president"
