Dan Bongino: We're learning that Trump-Russia collusion 'was always a hoax'
Dan Bongino discusses the Michael Flynn case with Brian Kilmeade.
In uncovering additional information regarding the case of former national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn, America is learning more and more that the narrative of collusion between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia was "always a hoax," Fox News contributor Dan Bongino stated Thursday.
In an interview on the "Brian Kilmeade Show," Bongino said the answer to whether Flynn was actually guilty of any charges made against him in the Russia investigation was obvious.
FLYNN NOT MASKED IN REPORT ON KEY CALLS WITH RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR: SOURCE
"If you genuinely thought Mike Flynn was a spy to the point that an order from the presidential staff themselves to go target his phone calls originated from it, then how dare you not brief the incoming administration and allow a Russian spy to sit in the White House," he exclaimed.
"The answer is obvious," he told host Brian Kilmeade. "Of course, they didn't think Flynn was a Russian spy. They knew it was a hoax — the whole thing."
In this Jan. 3, 2017 file photo, national security adviser-designate Michael Flynn arrives at Trump Tower in New York. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (The Associated Press)
Former President Barack Obama had warned then-President-elect Trump about Flynn during their Oval Office meeting two days after the election. Obama's staff felt Flynn was problematic and had fired him from his job as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) initially probed Flynn on his connection with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. In 2017, Flynn pled "guilty" to a charge of making false statements in interviews with the FBI. However, he later recanted his plea, citing "bad faith" by the government.
The case returned to the national spotlight after the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to dismiss charges against him earlier this month. In response, Flynn's District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan called on Judge John Gleeson as a "friend-of-the-court" to review further, sparking backlash from Republicans.
A list of Obama-era officials who had sought to unmask Flynn was recently released, but Fox News confirmed Thursday that Flynn's name was not actually masked in a key document detailing his calls with Kislyak and that his name from the unredacted transcript of the calls was then leaked to the press.
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"Nobody ever took this [Steele] dossier seriously. It's always been a hoax," Bongino asserted. "They've been targeting Mike Flynn since 2015 and his 2014 dinner with Svetlana Lokhova. He's been a subject of the Obama administration's spying because he opposed the Iran Deal and opposed the intelligence community's handling of battlefield intelligence."
"It's as simple as that. Obama spied on his enemies," he concluded. "It's no more complicated than that, and Flynn was public enemy number one."
Lokhova, a Russian-born academic who became a central point in 2017 for her past contact with Flynn, told Fox News in an exclusive interview last year that she is not a spy for Moscow — and, to the contrary, believes she was “used” to smear Flynn.
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