Joe Biden says he KNEW the FBI wanted to investigate Mike Flynn over Russia but knew nothing about his prosecution as Donald Trump ramps up claims of 'Obamagate' - which former VP calls a 'diversion'
Joe Biden admitted Tuesday that he and then-President Barack Obama were told that the FBI was seeking an investigation into Michael Flynn in early 2017 – but claimed Donald Trump focusing on these details of the case now are a 'diversion' from coronavirus response failures.
'I was aware that there was – that they asked for an investigation, but that's all I know about it,' Biden told ABC News' Good Morning America Tuesday morning.
'And I don't think anything else – look, think about this: Can you image any other President of the United States focusing on this at the moment when a country is just absolutely concerned about their health?'
'This is all about diverting attention,' he insisted. 'Focus on what's in front of us. Get us out of this, Mr. President.'
The answer came after Biden had initially denied to interviewer George Stephanopoulos knowing about Flynn.
'I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn, number one. Number two, this is all about diversion,' Biden continued. 'This is a game this guy plays all the time.'
But Stephanopolous said 'I want to push you' to Biden and noted that as vice president he was present at a meeting at which intelligence chiefs discussed Flynn having a call with Russia's ambassador Sergei Kisylak and informed Barack Obama about it.
That prompted Biden's admission that he knew about the investigation.
The comments came as Trump entered his third-day of Twitter ranting against Obama, claiming he and his administration are responsible for crimes linked to the Flynn case that he says are more serious than Watergate.
Flynn's case has been revived after new revelations led to the Justice Department abruptly dropping the charges against the former National Security adviser after he already pleaded guilty under oath.
Biden, the presumed Democratic nominee planning to take on Trump in November, had initially said the president is treating the news cycle as a 'game' by dubbing his predecessor's supposed action as 'Obamagate.'
Joe Biden said Tuesday morning that he was informed in early January 2017 that the FBI was interesting in investigating incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, but claimed he didn't know anything about the prosecution
Biden also says Trump focusing on the DOJ dropping Flynn's case is a 'diversion' from what the former vice president claims are Trump's failures in his federal coronavirus response
Richard Grenell, President Trump's acting Director of National Intelligence, has declassified a list of Obama administration officials alleged to have been involved in the 'unmasking' of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn
'The country is in crisis – we're in an economic crisis, a health crisis. We're in real trouble,' he told ABC News' George Stephenopoulos Tuesday morning. 'He should stop trying to always divert attention from the real concerns of the American people.'
'He hasn't done his job,' Biden said. 'This is all about diverting attention – diverting attention from the horrible way in which he has acted. We don't have coronavirus because of him, but we have the devastating impact of it because of his lack of a policy – his lack of policy. It's all about diversion.'
Biden's comments came as, in his more than 30-tweet tirade Tuesday morning, Trump said: 'OBAMAGATE makes Watergate look small time!'
In another tweet, Trump lauded 'Big news!' in reposting a report by a Fox News contributor that a 'List Of Obama Officials Involved In Unmasking Declassified' is expected to be made public soon.
Trump's Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, declassified on Monday a list of former Obama administration officials said to be involved in the 'unmasking' of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
He obtained the list after visiting Justice Department headquarters last week.
'Unmasking' is the revelation that an American citizen's name appears in intelligence gathering like eavesdropping or wiretaps that are initially aimed at suspected foreign agents.
Supporters of Trump allege that members of the Obama administration improperly sought to investigate Flynn over contacts he had with the ambassador to Russia.
Trump's barrage against Obama's involvement in the case came after audio was revealed Friday where the former president said the 'rule of law is at risk' after the Flynn case was dropped.
During the call he also bashed Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic as an 'absolute chaotic disaster.'
It is still unclear what crime Trump is accusing of his predecessor.
The only explanation of his accusations are Trump's suggestions on Twitter that Obama acted illegally when the Department of Justice began probing incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn in late 2016.
Despite Trump urging an investigation into Obama, top Republican allies are not on board.
'I'm not anticipating calling President Obama,' Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said, according to Politico.
'I think the president's got a real good reason to be upset with the Obama people,' he admitted.
Donald Trump launched an early Tuesday morning attack against Obama, entering day three of his tirade against his predecessor, and claimed that the undefined 'Obamagate' is worse than Nixon-era Watergate, which led to Richard Nixon's impeachment and him resigning from office
He also lauded 'Big news!' that a list of Obama officials involved in the Michael Flynn investigation was released and many will be questioned in Congress
Trump's attacks against Obama came after the former president bashed his successors response to the coronavirus pandemic, claiming it is an 'absolute chaotic disaster'
Graham's panel is investigating the origins of the 2016 Russia investigation – and the chairman has vowed to bring in former senior Obama administration officials as witnesses, including former FBI Director James Comey and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates.
Other Republican senators have also avoided taking a side on if the DOJ should investigate former Obama officials.
Despite hesitations, some GOP lawmakers stopped just short of endorsing a probe.
'Some of the revelations that I read including conversations with Comey and Sally Yates and others are very troubling,' Texas Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Trump ally and, said new questions raised about the prosecution of Flynn should be put directly to Obama and Biden.
'Given all we know now about the fake foundation of the inquiry, it's time we ask: What did Obama and Biden know and when did they know it?' Grassley said Monday on the Senate floor.
The president's salvo against Obama followed a stream of more than 120 tweets Sunday, many focusing on him being part of a conspiracy to bring Trump down – and he claimed in one tweet that Obama committed the 'biggest political crime in American history.'
Several of Trump's tweets insisted that Obama knew the details of a call between former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Russian diplomat Sergey Kislyak in 2016 – an incident that is at the center of what Trump calls the 'Impeachment Scam.'
The prosecution against Flynn for lying to the FBI about that call was dropped last week, spurring Obama to tell his alums on Friday during a 30-minute web call that the U.S. 'rule of law' is at risk.
While Trump wants Obama questioned, top Senate ally, Lindsey Graham (pictured), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: 'I'm not anticipating calling President Obama'
Trump comments are part of a three-day Twitter tirade against Obama. In response to one tweet claiming that Obama 'is the first Ex-President to ever speak against his successor,' Trump wrote: 'He got caught, OBAMAGATE!'
The president al retweeted this image Sunday night, writing: 'OBAMAGATE'
During the call with the Obama Alumni Association, the former president blatantly attacked his successor, a break from his previous practice of avoiding direct insults against the president.
In response, Trump retweeted Sunday comments from ally Jim Jordan, who said: 'Obama's FBI targeted President Trump and his allies before the 2016 election. Scary!' Trump added: '...And we caught them and their illegal activities!'
Trump followed that on Sunday and Monday morning with a string of tweets and retweets about 'Obamagate.'
The contours of the 'Obamagate' claim are not entirely clear, but appear linked to Trump's claim that those who prosecuted Flynn are 'human scum.'
Last week Attorney General Bill Barr's Justice Department withdrew support for Flynn's prosecution – and a federal judge will have to decide whether to clear Flynn, who previously pleaded guilty under oath to lying to the FBI.
Trump appears to be suggesting in his tweets that Obama in some way instructed the FBI to conceal its investigation of Flynn from the incoming administration as part of an attempt to have Trump removed from office once he was inaugurated.
In one of his Mother's Day tweets on Monday, Trump claimed that 'Obamagate makes Watergate look small time' and insisted Obama had finally 'got caught.'
During a Rose Garden press conference Monday, Trump offered no definition of what 'Obamagate' is or what crime the former president committed when he was pressed on the matter. 'You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody,' he said
During a press conference in the Rose Garden Monday afternoon, Trump offered no definition of what he was actually alleging of Obama.
'What crime exactly are you accusing President Obama of committing and do you believed the Justice Department should prosecute him?' a Washington Post reporter asked the president.
Trump responded 'Obamagate,' then added: 'It's being going on a long time. It's being going on from before I even got elected and it's a disgrace that it happened, and if you look at what's gone on and if you look at now, at all this information that's been released, and from what I understand that's only the beginning, terrible things happened, and it should never be allowed to happen in our country again.'
'And you'll be seeing what going on over the next, over the coming weeks and I wish you'd write honestly about it, but unfortunately you choose not to do so,' he continued.
When pushed further to define the crime, Trump said: 'You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody.'
'All you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours,' he said of the Post, which he often denounces as 'fake news.'
Joe Biden says he KNEW the FBI wanted to investigate Mike Flynn over Russia but knew nothing about his prosecution as Donald Trump ramps up claims of 'Obamagate' - which former VP calls a 'diversion'
![Joe Biden says he KNEW the FBI wanted to investigate Mike Flynn over Russia but knew nothing about his prosecution as Donald Trump ramps up claims of 'Obamagate' - which former VP calls a 'diversion']()
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May 13, 2020
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