Flynn’s New Consulting Gig Turns Into Circus Hours After Announcement

Mere hours after the announcement was published introducing former national security adviser Michael Flynn as the global strategies director of new consulting firm Stonington Global LLC, Flynn’s lawyers swooped, insisting that the announcement was a product of a “misunderstanding” and that Flynn was not a part of the new firm – at least not yet. 

According to a Tuesday Wall Street Journal report, Flynn’s attorneys hurriedly issued a statement to scuttle the arrangement. “General Flynn has not joined Stonington and did not personally issue any public statement,” lawyers Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony said Tuesday. “He was aware that a statement was being drafted, but he did not intend that it be issued at this time.”

Flynn’s statement yesterday expressed his enthusiasm to “put my 33 years of experience in the military and serving Presidents of both parties in the White House to good use in helping companies and governments enhance the goals of freedom and liberty.”

This bizarre announcement and reversal is happening as Flynn waits to be sentenced for lying to federal investigators, appearing in court Tuesday for the first time since he pled guilty in December. Flynn has been cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller for months, and has seen his sentencing date repeatedly pushed back, indicating the Mueller is still mining valuable information from the retired general. He could face up to six months in jail for lying to FBI officials about his Russian contacts, and has also admitted working as an agent for Turkey during the 2016 campaign.

With Flynn out of the picture, for now, the firm’s other members will push on. Controversial lobbyist Nick Muzin and his partner Joey Allaham, whose most recent work involved an ill-fated $300,000 per month contract to boost Qatar’s image by connecting the royal family and Trump associates, released a statement in response to  Flynn’s lawyers.

“We cannot comment on General Flynn’s considerations about the timing of the announcement, but we have faith in his patriotism and long history of service to our country,” Muzin and Allaham told the Journal. “We look forward to working together.”

Though the two men reportedly did not know Flynn personally as they formed the firm, they recruited him for his “experience.”

They’ve hit the ground running, producing a hokey promotional video and official website. They advertise that the firm will “help private investors and sovereign-wealth funds develop and execute investment strategies.”

Flynn’s son, Michael Flynn Jr., was also offered a spot in the new company. It is unclear if Flynn Jr., who is known to peddle conspiracy theories like Pizzagate, remains involved with the firm.