Biden Calls Trump’s Focus on Flynn a ‘Diversion’ From Coronavirus

(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden called President Donald Trump’s anger at the Obama administration for launching an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn an effort to distract from his handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 80,000 Americans.

“This is all about diversions,” Biden said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Trump, he said, “has acted irresponsibly from the very beginning. He continues to act irresponsibly. He hasn’t done his job. This is all about diverting attention, diverting attention from the horrible way in which he’s acted” in responding to the coronavirus crisis.

The Justice Department last week dropped its criminal case against Flynn. Flynn had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian diplomat during the 2016 presidential transition. Trump and others on the right argue that former President Barack Obama and key aides used their final weeks in office to target incoming Trump officials.

Biden, Obama’s vice president, insisted Tuesday that there was no wrongdoing by the Obama administration in beginning a probe of Flynn’s conduct in January 2017 and said that was all he was aware of at the time. “I think there’s nothing there there,” he said of Trump’s claims against the Obama team.

And, he added, there will be “plenty of time” for Trump to investigate his claims once the coronavirus crisis subsides.

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