Justice Department settles lawsuit from Trump ally Michael Flynn for
$1.2 million, AP source says
[March 26, 2026]
By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has settled for roughly $1.2
million a lawsuit from Michael Flynn, the former national security
adviser to President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty during the
Republican's first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with
a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned.
Court papers filed Wednesday do not reveal the settlement amount, but a
person familiar with the matter, who spoke to The Associated Press on
condition of anonymity to disclose nonpublic information, confirmed the
total as about $1.2 million.
The settlement resolves a 2023 lawsuit in which Flynn sought at least
$50 million and asserted that the criminal case against him amounted to
a malicious prosecution. It also represents a stark turnabout in
position for a Justice Department that during the Biden administration
had pressed a judge to dismiss Flynn's complaint. Attorney General Pam
Bondi, a former personal lawyer for the president, has openly criticized
the Russia investigation in which Flynn was charged and the Justice
Department in the last year has opened investigations into former
officials who participated in that inquiry.
The Justice Department cast the settlement as an “important step in
redressing” what it says was a “historic injustice” of the Russia
investigation that shadowed Trump for much of his first term.
“This Department of Justice will continue to pursue accountability at
all levels for this wrongdoing. Such weaponization of the federal
government must never be allowed to happen again,” a spokesperson said.
In a separate statement, Flynn said: “Nothing can fully compensate for
the hell that my family and I have endured over these many years — the
relentless attacks, the destruction of reputations, the financial ruin,
and the profound personal toll inflicted upon us all. No amount of money
or formal resolution can erase the pain caused by a prosecution that
should never have been brought.”
The settlement is the latest turn in the long-running legal saga
involving Flynn, one of six Trump associates charged as part of special
counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential ties between
Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. That investigation found
Russia interfered in the election on Trump's behalf and that the Trump
campaign eagerly welcomed the help, but it ultimately found insufficient
evidence of a criminal conspiracy.
Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who vigorously campaigned at
Trump’s side, served for weeks as his first national security adviser
before being pushed out of his position. He remained a Trump ally even
after agreeing to cooperate with Mueller's team. He was pardoned in the
final weeks of the president's first term.
[to top of second column]
|
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI when he
said he had not discussed with the Russian envoy, Sergey Kislyak,
sanctions that the outgoing Obama administration had just imposed on
Russia for election interference. During that conversation, Flynn
advised that Russia be “even-keeled” in response to the punitive
measures, and assured him “we can have a better conversation” about
relations between the countries after Trump became president.
The conversation alarmed the FBI, which at the time was
investigating whether the Trump campaign and Russia had coordinated
to sway the election. In addition, White House officials were
stating publicly that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions,
which the FBI knew was untrue.
Flynn was ousted from his position in February 2017 after news broke
that Obama administration officials had warned the White House that
Flynn had indeed discussed sanctions with Kislyak and was vulnerable
to blackmail. He pleaded guilty months later to a false statement
charge.
But Flynn later sought to withdraw his guilty plea, saying federal
prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and broken their end of the
bargain when they sought prison time for him.
The Justice Department in 2020 moved to dismiss the case, asserting
that the FBI had no basis to interview Flynn about Kislyak and that
any statements he made during the interview were not material to the
FBI’s broader counterintelligence probe.
Flynn was pardoned by Trump in November 2020, ending the court case
and the legal wrangling.
In his lawsuit, Flynn maintained his innocence and said he was
targeted by the “virulently anti-Trump leadership” of the FBI's
Russia investigation. He contended that investigators pursued him
despite knowing there was no evidence of a crime and coerced his
guilty plea.
“He was falsely branded as a traitor to his country, lost at least
tens of millions of dollars of business opportunities and future
lifetime earning potential, was maliciously prosecuted and spent
substantial monies in his own defense,” says the lawsuit, adding
that Flynn will continue to suffer “mental and emotional pain.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
