Professor Tom Nichols, who works at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where Flynn obtained his master’s degree in national security and strategic studies in 2001, said: “It would be a concern if the national security adviser were to be influenced by conspiracy theories and false news. “
Michael Flynn with his son Michael Flynn Jr.
A false conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton that was spread by Michael Flynn’s son on the Trump transition team has led to shots being fired in a pizza restaurant, according to reports. The son of Donald Trump has been fired from the transition team. He was named national security adviser by the president-elect.
Michael Flynn Jr, while working for his father, tweeted an inaccurate claim that Clinton’s supporters were running a paedophile ring at Comet Ping Pong in Washington.
Even after a man on Sunday fired a rifle in a restaurant apparently sparked by the conspiracy theory, Flynn said on Twitter that the fake news would “remain a story” until proven false.
President-elect Donald Trump’s affection for fake news and his desire to see them promoted have heightened worries about his suitability, as have the additional queries about his qualifications. Theincident has raised questions about whether Flynn Sr, who has also shared bogus information on social media, is suitable.
On Tuesday, Vice-President-elect Mike Pence acknowledged on CNN that his son, Flynn Jr, had been working for his father, Flynn, but that that was no longer the case.
Flynn Jr’s father, Flynn, had planned for his son to work for him on the national security council team, and that process began, according to the New York Times.
Flynn Sr’s Twitter posts prior to the election were also essentially uncontroversial. However, ten days before the election he falsely tweeted that Clinton’s emails contained evidence of child abuse and money-laundering.
During the campaign, Flynn encouraged his followers to read a book by Mike Cernovich, who promotes conspiracy theories. Flynn also tagged white nationalist Jared Wyand on social media. Consequently, he encouraged his followers to read a book by Michael Cernovich, who asserts that Clinton’s campaign chairman was part of a “sex cult with connections to human trafficking”.
According to the New York Times, Michael Hayden, the former CIA and National Security Agency director, said: “The national security adviser should have a moderating effect on the instincts of the president, and it remains to be seen if Mike can do that.”
Smith, a former deputy national security adviser to the vice-president, Joe Biden, said she was troubled by Flynn’s promotion of fake news. She told the Associated Press that his role would be to “ensure that the White House is focused on all of the threats that the United States faces abroad”.
In light of Flynn’s willingness to promote fake news, “substantial questions” should be raised about his suitability for the job, said the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, Adam Schiff.
The concern posed by the appointment of Donald Trump’s national security adviser, General Flynn, to a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies in 2001, that he could be drawn into conspiracies and fake news, has not been alleviated, according to Professor Tom Nichols, a national security expert at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
