Ever since President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, was connected to several social media posts regarding the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency has come under fire. Even top national security figures sympathetic to Trump are calling on the next president to rescind his offer — citing the media “clown show” that resulted after Flynn’s son made headlines for spreading fake news on Twitter. Unfortunately for the retired general, however, his habit of spreading spurious stories is still catching up with him.
According to CNN, Flynn made a rather dubious claim in August about “Arabic” signs located sporadically along the U.S.-Mexico border that were meant to guide “radicalized Muslims” into the country illegally. To support his claim, which Flynn made during an interview with Breitbart News on SiriusXM Radio, he referenced anecdotal information received by friends on the Border Patrol and photos he’d allegedly seen:
“There are countries — radical Islamist countries, state-sponsored — that are cutting deals with Mexican drug cartels for some of what they call the ‘lanes of entry’ into our country. And I have personally seen the photos of the signage along those paths that are in Arabic. They’re like way points along that path as you come in. Primarily, in this case the one that I saw was in Texas and it’s literally, it’s like signs, that say, in Arabic, ‘this way, move to this point.’ It’s unbelievable.”
Neither Flynn nor the Trump Transition team responded to CNN’s request for comment, whereas the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency cited by Flynn “respectfully” chose not to offer any response. Yet considering the president-elect’s recent calls for a “Muslim registry” and his many, many instances of questionable comments about Islam and its practitioners, it isn’t hard to imagine Trump not thinking much of Flynn’s remarks. (Or believing them, for that matter.)
After all, as the potential National Security Advisor said later on in the interview, the supposed “rise of Muslims and radicalized Muslims coming into our country illegally is something that we should pay very, very close attention to.” That’s precisely what Trump has been promising he’ll do if elected.
Check out the audio from Flynn’s radio show appearance below.
(Via CNN)