Mike Flynn Jr insists his ‘patriot’ dad did not lie to Mike Pence about talking to Russians

Mike Flynn Jr. defended his father, President Donald Trump's disgraced first national security adviser, in a pair of tweets.

The younger Flynn denied that his father lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition period overseen by Trump's running mate.

"American Patriot @GenFlynn did not lie to Pence (or anyone else in the admin) about his perfectly legal and appropriate conversations w Russian AMB Kislyak in Dec 2016," Flynn tweeted. "Why would a highly decorated military intel officer lie about something legal? Been a MSM lie from day 1."

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Dec. 1 to one count of making false statements to the FBI regarding his contacts with Kislyak and agreed to cooperate with the special counsel probe into Trump campaign ties to Russia.

Pence said Dec. 22 that he knew Flynn had lied to him at the time of his February 2017 firing when he denied discussing U.S. sanctions with Kislyak before Trump took office.

The vice president told CBS News on Jan. 15, 2017, that he discussed Flynn's contact with the ambassador, which Pence described at the time as brief text exchange Christmas Day 2016 to offer condolences over a fatal plane crash in Russia.

"It was strictly coincidental that they had a conversation," Pence said. "They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States' decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia."

The White House said Flynn was fired for misleading the vice president, and it's not clear when Trump administration officials learned the former national security adviser had lied to FBI agents during a Jan. 24, 2017, interview.

The younger Flynn, who served as a his father's chief of staff during the transition period, denied that his father agreed to plead guilty to protect him.

"Here’s another MSM lie," Flynn tweeted. "There was never anything my father had 2 protect me from bcause I was nvr involved in or did anything illegal. Any1 who knows me, knows I operate w incredble integrity."

"This narrative that @GenFlynn had 2 'plea 2 protect his son' has been false from day 1," he added.