Stefan Halper, the Cambridge professor and FBI informant who is one of the key players in the Russian collusion hoax, said in a secretly recorded meeting in early 2017 that Lieutenant General Michael Flynn would not “be around long” following the inauguration of Donald Trump, the Daily Caller reports.
The conversation reportedly took place on January 10, 2017, between Halper and Steven Schrage, a former staffer with the George W. Bush administration.
Just 10 days before President Trump’s inauguration, Schrage recorded their conversation. Schrage released the audio Sunday.
On the recording, Halper can be heard saying that “you have to consider very carefully if you feel it’s appropriate for you to work for Flynn,” who was the incoming national security advisor. Halper added: “I don’t think Flynn’s going to be around long. That’s just my guess.”
Just two days after the conversation took place, the Washington Post obtained leaked information about Flynn’s conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, which ultimately started the rumors about Flynn’s alleged—and ultimately unproven—involvement with the Russian government that led to his dismissal from the Trump White House and his ongoing legal troubles.
Schrage, who published a long essay over the weekend at journalist Matt Taibbi’s website, was a doctoral candidate under Halper in 2017. Schrage remarked how unusual it was for an academic like Halper to know Flynn’s position was somehow in jeopardy.
“Halper would not have independently known Flynn, Trump’s most trusted security advisor, was about to go down,” Schrage wrote.
Schrage also revealed he has met with U.S. Attorney John Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr to investigate the origins of the Russian collusion conspiracy against President Trump.
Halper played a large role in the plot to set up numerous Trump campaign associates and administration officials to portray them as Russian operatives. Among them were Trump campaign aides Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, who both had conversations with Halper in which he attempted to coax them into admitting ties to the Russian government, accusations that both men denied and were ultimately cleared of.