'The triple crown of counterintelligence concerns': Andrew McCabe details how Flynn concealed 'contacts with the enemy'

On Wednesday's edition of CNN's "The Situation Room," former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe outlined the seriousness of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's criminal offense — and the implications of outgoing President Donald Trump's pardon.

"It's important to remember at one point, Flynn was cooperating with Robert Mueller's investigation, but he stopped. That is unusual," said anchor Jim Acosta. "What do you make of the comment that we were discussing ... that the president appears to be trying to pardon people who were central to this Russia investigation. Is he trying to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation through these pardons?"

"It certainly seems that way, Jim," said McCabe, who was fired by Trump over his own role in the Russia probe. "No question that the president would like to do everything he possibly can to cut the legs out from under the conclusions in the Mueller report, and if pardoning his friends and associates and people who could potentially expose him to who knows what kind of investigative liability down the road is the way to secure his own future ... then I'm sure we will see that."

"I think it's also important, Jim, to note that the thing about what General Flynn did," said McCabe. "It wasn't just that he had historic contacts with Russians. It wasn't just he had current contact with the Russians, in a way, in getting the favors granted. He then tried to conceal those contacts from the vice president, from the president's chief of staff and the White House counsel and concealing contact with the enemy, that is like the triple crown of counterintelligence concerns. We were, I think, all rightfully concerned at that time."

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