Trump Team Fires Flynn Son Over PizzaGate Tweets

Adviser's son pushed 'PizzaGate' theory
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 7, 2016 12:33 AM CST
Trump Team Fires Flynn Son Over PizzaGate Tweets
In this Nov. 17, 2016 photo, Lt. Gen Michael Flynn gestures as he arrives at Trump Tower with his son Michael G. Flynn, left.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The son of incoming national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has apparently gotten himself fired from the Trump transition team for sending dubious tweets. The New York Times reports that a transition team spokesman said Tuesday that Michael G. Flynn is no longer working for the transition. Sources say the younger Flynn had been in the process of getting a security clearance to join his father at the National Security Council, but was fired because of his tweets about the "PizzaGate" fake news story. Flynn Jr. continued to tweet in support of the conspiracy theory even after a gunman stormed a pizzeria in Washington, DC, on Sunday, looking for children he thought were being kept as sex slaves by top Democrats.

Mike Pence told CNN Tuesday that Flynn Jr. was no longer part of the transition, but declined to say whether the team had been seeking security clearance for him. "All of our families want to be helpful, and four weeks to the day from Election Day, we've got a lot of work to do," Pence told Jake Tapper. "But Mike Flynn Jr. is no longer associated with Gen. Flynn's efforts or the transition team, and we're focused eyes forward." The Times notes that the elder Flynn has made so many "dubious assertions" of his own on Twitter and elsewhere that his staff started calling them "Flynn facts." Democrats and some former GOP national security officials have questioned his fitness for the role, though there is no sign that his position is in jeopardy. (More Michael Flynn stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X