Michael Flynn charged with making false statement to the FBI

WASHINGTON - Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was charged Friday with making a false statement to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, marking another monumental development in the wide-ranging probe of Special Counsel Robert Mueller III.

Flynn was expected to enter a plea at 10:30 a.m. ET, according to the special counsel's office. The charges relate to false statements Flynn made to the FBI on Jan. 24, four days after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, about his meeting with Kislyak during the transition.

The charges include making false statements to the FBI about asking the ambassador in late December to 'refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day.” Flynn also told authorities he did not recall the ambassador saying the Russians would moderate their response to Obama administration sanctions after the conversation.

Separately, authorities say Flynn lied about asking the ambassador to delay a vote on United Nations Security Council resolutions.