Waiting for the Flynn indictment

The delay doesn’t mean Flynn has been cleared. Instead, it appears the former general is entangled in so many strands of the Russia investigation that Mueller needs more time to run down all the leads. For instance: For years the Turkish government has pressured American politicians to return Reza Zarrab, a gold trader accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Mueller wants to know if Ankara enlisted Flynn, who in 2016 was a paid agent of Turkey as well as a Trump campaign adviser, in the effort to extradite Zarrab.

Last week, just as Zarrab was about to stand trial, he was suddenly and mysteriously transferred within the U.S. prison system, his new whereabouts undisclosed. Perhaps Zarrab was moved for his physical safety. Another strong possibility, former prosecutors say, is that Zarrab has become a cooperating witness.

  Vanity Fair

I'd say that's a pretty good bet, considering the recent story about Flynn's plan to kidnap exile Fethullah Gulen and hand him over to Turkey.

Flynn’s lawyers did not respond to a call for comment, though they did issue a statement responding to a Wall Street Journal story about Mueller’s interest in the Turkish angle. “Out of respect for the process of the various investigations regarding the 2016 campaign, we have intentionally avoided responding to every rumor or allegation raised in the media. But today’s news cycle has brought allegations about General Flynn, ranging from kidnapping to bribery, that are so outrageous and prejudicial that we are making an exception to our usual rule: they are false.”

They are indeed outrageous. And yet, they hardly seem like the typical rumor to discredit.

Then there’s the dead body in a Minnesota hotel room. Peter W. Smith, a Republican political operative, committed suicide in May, about a week after reporters questioned Smith about his efforts to obtain Hillary Clinton’s e-mails from Russian hackers. Investigators have been trying to determine whether Flynn and his son were involved in pursuing those Clinton e-mails. “That suicide opened up a whole ‘nother chapter in the investigation,” says Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley, a member of the House Intelligence Committee. “We are still closer to the beginning of the investigation than the end.” (“No Foul Play Whatsoever,” read a suicide note left behind at the scene.)

Nothing suspicious there.