Here’s how a 'radicalized' Michael Flynn 'cashed in' on 'baseless conspiracy theories'

24 October 2024

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is among the many far-right MAGA Republicans who promoted the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. Flynn even called for then-President Trump to impose martial law in December 2020, and although his false claims have been repeatedly debunked, he continues to promote them anyway.

In an article published by CNN on October 24, reporters Tierney Sneed, Zachary Cohen and Em Steck stress that Flynn has turned "baseless conspiracy theories into a cottage industry centered around live events, a documentary and political fundraising through dark money groups."

"Flynn — a retired Army lieutenant general who once led the Defense Intelligence Agency, and someone Trump has indicated he would include in a second administration — has been one of the biggest promoters of the same baseless voter fraud allegations that have spawned criminal investigations, a congressional inquiry and, in the case of Dominion (Voting Systems), a $787 million defamation settlement from Fox News," the CNN reporters explain. "Yet Flynn has so far skirted any legal jeopardy himself, maintaining a unique place within the MAGA movement thanks to his relentless promotion of baseless election lies, and his continued loyalty to Trump."

Sneed, Cohen and Steck report that "Trump and his allies," including Flynn, have "gone from claiming the 2020 election was rigged to casting doubt on the integrity of this one."

"At its heart is an informal confederation of Trump allies who have spent the past four years spreading the lie of voter fraud," the journalists note. "Not only have they managed to convince large swaths of the country that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump — they've made a business out of it. No one has cashed in quite like Flynn."

Sneed, Cohen and Steck continue, "Along with the ReAwaken America Tour, Flynn also co-founded The America Project, a nonprofit group which has raised at least $21 million from unknown donors since 2021, according to tax filings, while peddling baseless claims about the 2020 election."

Conservative Republican Olivia Troye, who served as a national security aide for former Vice President Mike Pence but is supporting Kamala Harris for president in 2024, warns that Flynn has become thoroughly "radicalized."

Troye told CNN, "The concern about people like Mike Flynn is that he was once a very well-respected military officer. The issue is that he, someone like that, is fully capable of radicalizing others in the military, and others, like our former military, because he brings that stature."

Read CNN's full report at this link.

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