Some are saying that if General Flynn is guilty of a crime, and if he has knowledge that implicates Trump or Jared, all Trump has to do to stop Flynn from "flipping" is pardon him. Leaving all the "ifs" aside, the conclusion is incorrect.
If Flynn is guilty and poised to cut a deal that implicates Kushner or Trump, a pardon won't stop him from implicating them. If he's pardoned, he will lose his right to plead the Fifth. At that point, Flynn could be compelled to talk with investigators, participate in depositions and testify before congress or in court, if it comes to that.
And if Flynn were to lie after being pardoned, he'd be back to square one, in need of a deal again. Catching him in a lie would not be difficult because the FBI always holds back what they know, asking questions when they already know the answers so that they can charge a target with lying to investigators. Then they turn the screws real hard.
Surely pardons have been discussed with the president. There is no possibility that his lawyers have failed to explain this particular rock and hard place.
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