There s Been One Call I Talked to General Flynn About This Again Last Night
FBI agents and the House panel investigating the January half-dozen assail on the Capitol have both learned of an alleged plan by allies of retired regular army Lt Gen Michael Flynn to get together "intelligence" on top Republicans to "movement" them to back election audits in primal states Trump lost, said ex-whistleblower Everett Stern who talked to the panel and the FBI.
Stern, who runs the intelligence firm Tactical Rabbit and is a Republican vying for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, in multiple interviews with the Guardian said ii Flynn associates with the rightwing Patriot Caucus group enlisted his help in Apr in a scheme to seek potentially dissentious information on two Republican members of Congress to prod them to back an inspect of the 2020 vote that Joe Biden won.
Stern told the Guardian he spent several hours in November telling House panel investigators about the declared bulldoze by Flynn associates who sought entrada finance and other dirt on Pennsylvania's Senator Pat Toomey and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick to win their support for an audit to bolster Trump'due south debunked charges that Biden's win was fraudulent.
A long-shot candidate to succeed the retiring Toomey, Stern said he alerted the FBI in June when he learned more details of the bizarre drive by Flynn allies to specifically target the two Republicans, both of whom backed impeaching Trump later the January half dozen insurrection.
The efforts by Flynn'south Patriot Caucus allies were launched subsequently Trump failed to cake Biden from taking office, and are role of a wider bulldoze past Trump loyalists and Flynn to help boost Trump's political fortunes via more state audits nationwide into faux charges that Biden's win was rigged, and elect agreeing candidates in key states to top balloter offices.
Stern provided text messages, emails and other documents revealing he had multiple contacts with one of the Patriot Caucus members, Velma Anne Ruth, and ii other influential Flynn allies, Houston real estate mogul Al Hartman and former army Green Beret Ivan Raiklin, who were pushing audits in several key states.
Stern said Flynn's Patriot Caucus associates get-go approached him in Pennsylvania for possible help after an April Republican political party event, and before long after told Stern in phone calls they worked with Flynn and the Patriot Caucus, and planned to recruit "former domestic and foreign intelligence officials" to facilitate their scheme.
The plan by Flynn'southward allies alarmed Stern, but every bit a old whistleblower involved in exposing a big depository financial institution money laundering scandal by HSBC in 2012, he told the Guardian he decided to play forth for a few months to glean data to betrayal the Trump allies' scheme.
Stern expressed dismay that Flynn'due south Patriot Caucus associates "don't empathize that Biden is the president. They wanted to collect information through Tactical Rabbit and my entrada" to turn upwards the heat on Toomey and Fitzpatrick to back an audit which Stern viewed as potentially "extortion".
Stern gave the Guardian a vocalization mail he received in which Hartman talked virtually leaning on moderate Republican "Rinos" in Pennsylvania to gain back up for an audit of that state'due south vote which Biden won by over 80,000, and Hartman said a similar drive in Michigan was needed.
Stern said Hartman wanted to use Tactical Rabbit's intelligence gathering tools and his campaign to dig up potentially embarrassing campaign finance information and other dirt about the Pennsylvania members, plus Republican political figures in Michigan who were too resisting audits.
Hartman and Raiklin besides talked with Stern virtually meeting Flynn, Trump's disgraced ex-national security adviser, and proposed compensating him for his information via entrada donations, said Stern.
In an April exchange of Hartman text letters seen by the Guardian, Hartman asked a Flynn scheduler to help "connect" Flynn with Stern whose Senate campaign and credentials he touted highly, calling Stern a "strong believer", in their cause.
Although Stern tipped off the FBI in June about what he deemed a threat to national security and he said he met with agents again in November, it's not clear if his allegations are still being pursued.
Stern's allegations take echoes of Flynn's scheming with Trump and other loyalists in belatedly 2020 to thwart Biden'south win, efforts that included a White House coming together with Trump where Flynn proposed declaring martial law in several states Biden won and then rerunning the election there.
In November, the House panel investigating the January 6 Capitol assail subpoenaed Flynn who Trump had pardoned post-ballot even though he had pled guilty twice to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation. In response to the amendment to bear witness and turn over documents, Flynn sued the panel only a guess speedily dismissed his lawsuit concluding month.
John Sipher, who was in the CIA's clandestine services for 28 years, shares Stern's view of Flynn, who he knew in the war machine and shortly thereafter. "I am appalled by what he has go," Sipher said in an email.
Asked if he idea the FBI was pursuing Stern'south charges, Sipher said: "I would hope and assume they are taking this seriously."
While Fitzpatrick and Toomey were the main "targets" Stern said other Pennsylvania officials including judges were too being targeted by the Flynn allies as they sought to ramp up pressure for an audit in the country.
Neither Fitzpatrick or Toomey'south offices replied to multiple requests for comment.
The Patriot Caucus, a coalition of Patriot and other rightwing groups in some two dozen states with which Raiklin and Hartman have ties, according to Stern and documents, has worked with Trump loyalists like Flynn to push button audits in key states Biden won, and backed Trump allies for governor, and other superlative posts in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona Trump lost.
Flynn himself on 7 January publicly endorsed another Trump marry and election audit promoter, Doug Mastriano for governor in Pennsylvania, at a campaign rally also attended by Raiklin.
Flynn has too endorsed two Trump backed candidates in Arizona: Kari Lake, an ex-Trick News figure, for governor, and Mark Finchem, a state representative who attended the January half dozen Stop the Steal rally, for secretarial assistant of state.
To coordinate national efforts, Raiklin and Hartman on 3 July spearheaded i of a series of "Ballot Integrity" calls with Trump loyalists, lawyers and donors to discuss the status of audits efforts in several states and other plans to bandage incertitude on Biden's win, according to an Arizona senate certificate shared by the watchdog grouping American Oversight.
"Join usa every 2d Saturday for SITUATION UPDATES and COLLABORATION from agile leaders in the election remediation process at country level – attorneys with Mike Lindell and Patrick Byrne, data analysts, country legislators, gubernatorial candidates, and grassroots activists whose goal is completing a cyber forensic inspect in their state," the Arizona document reads.
A who's who list of Trump loyalists and groups invited to bring together these calls included the America Project and America's Hereafter, both of which Flynn played cardinal roles with as they poured some $2m into a discredited inspect of Arizona's largest county, plus the Patriot Conclave' Velma Anne Ruth, Finchem and Byrne, the millionaire master financier of the Arizona audit.
Hartman in emails with Stern obtained by the Guardian invited him in June to nourish a religious far-right meeting known as Ziklag in Dallas where he could meet separately with Flynn. Stern said Hartman told him a "private coming together was going to be arranged with Flynn" who Stern was told wanted to meet him.
After indicating to Hartman he would attend, Stern opted to cancel at the final minute later on his lawyer indicated there could exist legal repercussions from a meeting with Flynn. "I thought information technology was extremely dangerous to meet with a three star general who I believed had broken the law.
"They planned to requite my campaign funds to help me" develop dissentious information on Toomey and Fitzpatrick, Stern claimed. "It was like a wink, flash. Hartman is the human being backside the mantle. He's an operative and financier," promoting audits.
Hartman has long been a donor to the correct. He is on the informational council for the pro-Trump Turning Point USA and has been active in the conservative donor network led by oil billionaire Charles Koch.
Raiklin, an army reserve officer who reportedly has known Flynn since 2014, is facing an internal ground forces reserve investigation into possible violations of rules barring partisan political activity, co-ordinate to a armed forces official who spoke to Reuters concluding month.
Raiklin in December 2020 outlined a wild scheme in tweets and a podcast to thwart Biden'south win, charging a vast conspiracy that included Pence, intelligence, China and Large Tech, as Reuters reported. Raiklin told Trump to "activate the emergency broadcast arrangement" and deployed the hashtag #FightLikeAFlynn, stressing that "we the people are going to force this plan on them".
Neither Hartman or Raiklin replied to multiple calls seeking comment.
A Flynn scheduler did non respond to questions for the story.
Velma Anne Ruth with the Patriot Caucus, who was photographed with Stern at a June consequence in Pennsylvania where she wore a tank top that said General Flynn, called Stern's charges "delusional, made and defamatory", in a text message. Stern said he shared the photo and other documents involving exchanges he had with Ruth with the FBI.
Senior ex-prosecutors and intelligence officials say Stern's allegations merit police enforcement attention.
"Stern'southward allegations propose serious crimes," said ex-prosecutor Paul Rosenzweig, who worked on Ken Starr's team during the impeachment of Bill Clinton. "If his allegations were corroborated past extrinsic evidence they clearly would warrant investigation."
Erstwhile CIA official Sipher, who has spoken with Stern before, said: "Everett is someone with a strong sense of right and incorrect, and willing to suffer the consequences of doing the right matter. We would be better served to have more people like Everett in public life."
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/21/michael-flynn-allies-allegedly-targeted-republicans-back-election-audits
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