The Fall of Michael Flynn

It is difficult for this former US military officer to summon any sympathy for General Michael Flynn. I do not know the man, but I do know to organizational culture of the professional military officer in which General Flynn served with honor and distinction for 33 years. We are supposed to put the nation first, over any political party, over any campaign or candidate. Yet, most of us had never heard of Michael Flynn until he led a frenzied convention hall in a chant of “Lock her up!”

General Flynn had led disciplined troops into battle during his career, but it is possible that the unbridled energy of a screaming mob in a political venue was something for which he was emotionally unprepared. It is possible that soaking up this energy further propelled him along a path to personal tragedy, a path which had begun with his removal as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Obama administration, a path along which he became susceptible to Donald Trump’s long con and became briefly a major player in it.

Suddenly, having reached the height of his power and influence, Michael Flynn was pulled down. It should be remembered how short a time it was following his removal as National Security Advisor that he signaled his willingness to tell everything he knew to federal investigators, if only they would give him immunity. That was about the last we heard of him in the spring of 2017. A year and a half later, we now know that he did not received immunity, but he did get the next best offer: no prison time, no "Lock him up!"

That Michael Flynn will remain a free man is a startling measure of how fully and freely his has cooperated with the Office of the Special Counsel. He may have done so out of self-interest, but there is more to it than that. I suspect that in that sudden plunge from the pinnacle, the scales fell from his eyes and he remembered the professional military officer and guardian of the Constitution he had been for so many years. I would not be surprised, if General Flynn were to someday re-emerge into the public eye, that we would see a side of the man which few have ever seen. We would witness a sincerely penitent man, one who has long since come to realize how he allowed his bruised pride and a consuming anger to drive him on a course to self-destruction. I believe he would be the first to affirm that there is no excuse for his actions, but this may be the explanation.