--- title: Donald Trump 'Feels Badly' for Michael Flynn description: President Donald Trump said Monday that he sympathizes with his former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn. canonical: https://time.com/5047537/donald-trump-michael-flynn-guilty-plea-robert-mueller/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-04T15:28:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:26:19.543Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'I Think It's a Shame.' President Trump 'Feels Very Badly' for Michael Flynn og:description: "Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI," Trump claimed og:url: https://time.com/5047537/donald-trump-michael-flynn-guilty-plea-robert-mueller/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta793792670b5772f/6988f34fe76ad2764d630235/gettyimages-630358760.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: US President-elect Donald Trump (L) stands with Trump National Security Adviser Lt. General Michael Flynn (R) at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is holding meetings on December 21, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'I Think It's a Shame.' President Trump 'Feels Very Badly' for Michael Flynn twitter:description: "Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI," Trump claimed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta793792670b5772f/6988f34fe76ad2764d630235/gettyimages-630358760.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Think It's a Shame.' President Trump 'Feels Very Badly' for Michael Flynn > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 4, 2017 3:28 PM UTC  US President-elect Donald Trump (L) stands with Trump National Security Adviser Lt. General Michael Flynn (R) at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is holding meetings on December 21, 2016. US President-elect Donald Trump (L) stands with Trump National Security Adviser Lt. General Michael Flynn (R) at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is holding meetings on December 21, 2016. JIM WATSON—AFP/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 4, 2017 3:28 PM UTC President Donald Trump said Monday that he sympathizes with Michael Flynn, his former National Security Adviser who on Friday pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI regarding an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. “I feel badly for Gen. Flynn. I feel very badly,” Trump said Monday. “He’s led a very strong life, and I feel very badly about it. I will say this. Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI and nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and it destroyed his life, and I think it’s a shame.” White House Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office announced Friday that Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his Dec. 2016 conversation with Russia’s then-ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak. Flynn has since agreed to cooperate with the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s election meddling. (Prosecutors also said Flynn was guilty of making false statements when he filed documents pertaining to the [Foreign Agent Registration Act](http://time.com/5002606/foreign-agents-registration-act-paul-manafort/), though he does not face charges over that matter.) Trump responded to Flynn’s guilty plea Saturday, tweeting that he had fired Flynn because Flynn had lied to both Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI regarding his contact with Kislyak. The tweet made headlines, as the White House previously said Flynn had been fired solely because he lied to Pence, not because he lied to the FBI. Some legal experts argue that Trump openly acknowledging that he was aware Flynn lied to the FBI when he fired Flynn could constitute obstruction of justice, as Comey previously said Trump asked him to halt investigations into Flynn. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618) Trump on Sunday denied that he had ever asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn, calling the allegation “just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937279001684598784) Former FBI Director James Comey told Congress last year that Clinton did not lie to the FBI regarding her private email server and the use of classified information. “We have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI,” Comey told then-Congressman Jason Chaffetz in July 2016, [according to video from the hearing.](http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/07/07/james-comey-testimony-hillary-clinton-bts.cnn) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5047537/donald-trump-michael-flynn-guilty-plea-robert-mueller/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5047537/donald-trump-michael-flynn-guilty-plea-robert-mueller/"},"headline":"'I Think It's a Shame.' 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