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Donald Trump's latest tweet proves he really doesn't understand the right to remain silent

Bro. Just Google "Miranda rights."

Adam Rosenberg

on December 2, 2017

Donald Trump's latest tweet proves he really doesn't understand the right to remain silent

Mandatory Credit: Photo by REX/Shutterstock (9254357h) US President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington DC, USA, 02. President Trump commented on the tax reform package passed by the Senate and on the guilty plea by former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Donald Trump departs the White House for a New York fundraiser, Washington DC, USA - 02 Dec 2017 Credit: REX/Shutterstock

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Donald Trump really needs to give the Miranda Warning a good, long think before he tweets again, given that he's currently under investigation for -- among other things -- possible obstruction of justice. Though it may already be too late, given the latest @RealDonaldTrump utterance on the president's favorite social media platform.

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The tweet amounts to Trump's first comment on Michael Flynn, his former National Security Advisor. Flynn, who was fired just 24 days after Trump's inauguration for -- as Trump himself said on Saturday -- lying to both Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI, is now cooperating with special investigator Robert Mueller, as we learned on Friday.

While it will likely be some time before we hear Flynn's full story, the deal he struck with Mueller boils down to a single count of lying to the FBI. It's a nothing charge in relative terms; Flynn is on the hook for much more serious crimes according to most accounts, and his guilty plea strongly suggests he's leveraged what he knows to buy his freedom, and perhaps his son's freedom as well.

If you're looking for more context, there's an excellent "quick and dirty" run down of Flynn's plea agreement and what it might mean on the popular Lawfare Blog.

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Trump's latest tweet is problematic, then, because he's openly admitted to knowing about Flynn's FBI lie. That hasn't been the case before.

Flynn's guilty plea relates to a Jan. 24, 2017 meeting with the FBI in which he lied about his contacts with Russia. He then resigned from his National Security Advisor post several weeks later, on Feb. 13.

During a subsequent Feb. 16 press conference, Trump fielded a number of questions about Flynn's exit. He said that he'd asked for Flynn's resignation, explaining: "I fired him because of what he said to Mike Pence."

With Saturday's tweet, Trump is admitting for the first time that he knew about Flynn lying to the FBI as well. That's important because Trump later asked former FBI director James Comey -- as Comey himself testified -- to drop the Flynn investigation.

In short: Trump knew Flynn was on the hook for a crime (lying to the FBI), and he asked the man in charge of the bureau investigating that crime (Comey) to drop it. That would seem to be obstruction of justice, and Trump's tweet admits it.

Unsurprisingly, political Twitter immediately picked up on this and rushed to respond with legal insight, snark, and unrestrained jubilation.

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Topics X/Twitter Donald Trump Politics

Adam Rosenberg

Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.