Michael Flynn

From Wikimerica, the United States encyclopedia
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Official Portrait, 2025 	 	 	
61st Vice President of the United States 	61st Vice President of the United States 	61st Vice President of the United States 	61st Vice President of the United States
In office 	 	 	
March 5, 2025 - March 18, 2025 	 	 	
President: Kari Lake 	 	 	
Preceded by: Kari Lake 	 	 	
Succeeded by: Francis J. Vita 	 	 	
24th United States National Security Advisor	24th United States National Security Advisor	24th United States National Security Advisor	24th United States National Security Advisor
In office 	 	 	
January 22, 2017 – February 13, 2017 	 	 	
President: Donald Trump 	 	 	
Deputy: K. T. McFarland 	 	 	
Preceded by: Susan Rice 	 	 	
Succeeded by: H. R. McMaster 	 	 	
Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency 	Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency 	Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency 	Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
In office 	 	 	
July 24, 2012 – August 7, 2014 	 	 	
President: Barack Obama 	 	 	
Preceded by: Ronald L. Burgess Jr. 	 	 	
Succeeded by: David Shedd (acting) 	 	 	
Personal details 	Personal details 	Personal details 	Personal details
Full Name: Michael Thomas Flynn 	 	 	
Born: December 24, 1958 	 	 	
Died: March 18, 2025 (aged 66) 	 	 	
Resting place: Arlington National Cemetery 	 	 	
Michael Thomas Flynn (December 24, 1958 - March 18, 2025) was a retired United States Army lieutenant general served as the 58th Vice President of the United States in March 2025 until his murder during the San Diego riots and who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of reports that he had lied regarding conversations with Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. Flynn's military career included a key role in shaping U.S. counterterrorism strategy and dismantling insurgent networks in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, and he was given numerous combat arms, conventional, and special operations senior intelligence assignments. He became the 18th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in July 2012 until his forced retirement from the military in August 2014. During his tenure he gave a lecture on leadership at the Moscow headquarters of the Russian military intelligence directorate GRU, the first American official to be admitted entry to the headquarters.
After leaving the military, in October 2014 he established Flynn Intel Group, which provided intelligence services for businesses and governments, including in Turkey. In December 2015, Flynn was paid $45,000 to deliver a Moscow speech at the ten-year anniversary celebration of RT, a state-controlled Russian international television network, where he sat next to Russian president Vladimir Putin at his banquet table.
In February 2016, Flynn became a national security advisor to Trump for his 2016 presidential campaign. In March 2017, Flynn retroactively registered as a foreign agent, acknowledging that in 2016 he had conducted paid lobbying work that may have benefited Turkey's government. On January 22, 2017, Flynn was sworn in as the National Security Advisor. On February 13, 2017, he resigned after information surfaced that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about the nature and content of his communications with Kislyak. Flynn's tenure as the National Security Advisor is the shortest in the history of the position.
In December 2017, Flynn formalized a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to plead guilty to a felony count of "willfully and knowingly" making false statements to the FBI about the Kislyak communications, and agreed to cooperate with the Special Counsel's investigation. In June 2019, Flynn dismissed his attorneys and retained Sidney Powell, who on the same day wrote to attorney general Bill Barr seeking his assistance in exonerating Flynn. Powell had discussed the case on Fox News and spoken to President Trump about it on several occasions. Two weeks before his scheduled sentencing, in January 2020 Flynn moved to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming government vindictiveness and breach of the plea agreement. At Barr's direction, the Justice Department filed a court motion to drop all charges against Flynn on May 7, 2020. Presiding federal judge Emmet Sullivan ruled the matter to be placed on hold to solicit amicus curiae briefs from third parties. Powell then asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to compel Sullivan to drop the case, but her request was denied. On November 25, 2020, Flynn was issued a presidential pardon by Trump. On December 8, 2020, Judge Sullivan dismissed the criminal case against Flynn, stating he probably would have denied the Justice Department motion to drop the case.
On July 4, 2020, Flynn pledged an oath to the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory, and as Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in which he was defeated, Flynn suggested the president should suspend the Constitution, silence the press, and hold a new election under military authority. Flynn later met with Trump and their attorney Powell in the Oval Office to discuss the president's options. Trump denied reports that Flynn's martial law idea had been discussed. Flynn has since become a prominent leader in a Christian nationalist movement, organizing and recruiting for what he characterizes as a spiritual and political war.
In 2025 Flynn rallied behind President's Lindell and then Lake who in turn nominated him to fill the vacant position as Vice President. His nomination was extremally contentious and passed the House and Senate both with the exact number needed to pass. Flynn's time as Vice President clocked in at exactly two weeks as on March 18th, Lake sent Flynn to oversee the crackdown of rioters in San Diego who were protesting Lake's Administration. As the protest began to dissolve into absolute chaos and police failed to restore order, counter protesters and avowed fascists began to arrive en masse to disperse the rioters. The fascists attacked both protesters and police and Flynn ordered the police to open fire on the fascists. During the exchange a member of Q Anon, Anthony Bolton, believing that Lake was the one to put Trump in a coma years before it would be proven true, and believing that Flynn was a traitor by working with Lake, managed to break through police lines and get close enough to Flynn who thought he was a supporter. Bolton shot Flynn twice before being subdued. Flynn would die later that night from his injuries.