Flynn wouldn't say if he believes in the peaceful transition of power.
He called the American tradition the "envy of the world" in 2017:
It's a stunning reversal for the former national security advisor who wanted to help Trump.
According to the January 6 committee, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who was Donald Trump's national security advisor, refused to say if he believed in peaceful transfer of power.
Flynn pleaded the Fifth when asked if the violence on January 6 was legal or morally.
Flynn's stance on the peaceful transfer of power was very different a few years ago.
Flynn spoke glowingly of the tradition at a luncheon with Susan Rice days before he became national security advisor.
Flynn spoke at the luncheon about the gravity of the moment. The transfer of power from one president to the next is historic.
The country's first peaceful transfer of power took place.
One of the most significant moments in American history was when President John Adams had to hand the presidency over to his rival, Thomas Jefferson. It was not a constitutional crisis. What's the reason? The tradition of a peaceful transition of power has bound us all since.
The peaceful transfer of power in the country is an example for the rest of the world.
"As a model to the world, at least in our history, the United States has set the standard for peaceful transitions of power, and it is a model that continues to be the envy of the world," he said.
A high-ranking military official who served in the Obama administration and was tasked with advising the president on national security matters was shocked by Flynn's testimony.
It's consistent with several of Flynn's stances, including publicly urging Trump to impose martial law in order to re-run the 2020 election and privately advocating that he seize voting machines in several states.
He said on Newsmax that it was not unprecedented. We've never done martial law, so these people are talking about it. 64 times martial law has been used.
Flynn told a crowd that there was no reason for a military coup in the US.
Flynn's spokesman didn't reply to Insider's request.
Flynn has been a controversial person. He was fired from his job as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency by Obama due to policy differences. Two days after Trump won the presidency, Obama urged Trump against hiring Flynn.
Flynn was brought on in the top national security role despite the fact that he was already there. It did not last long. Less than a month into the administration, Flynn was removed as national security advisor after it was reported that he lied to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
The FBI was investigating Flynn and his ties to Russia when Trump asked them to stop.
"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," Trump said in a private Oval Office meeting in early 2017, according to a memo the FBI chief wrote soon after.
Flynn's two guilty pleas of making false statements and "any and all possible offenses" he may have committed were erased by Trump after he left the White House.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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