US President Donald Trump has pardoned his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn who last year pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Mr Flynn was convicted during a justice department inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the country’s 2016 election.

Announcing his decision, Trump tweeted :

The White House, in a statement following the President’s announcement, insisted on Flynn’s innocence, with press secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying in part: “The President has pardoned General Flynn because he should never have been prosecuted.”
The pardon brings “to an end the relentless, partisan pursuit of an innocent man,” McEnany wrote. The White House did not provide any evidence of Flynn’s innocence in the statement.