Michael Flynn Jr sacked over ‘Pizzagate’ claims that led to shots being fired at the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The son of Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has lost his job in the president-elect’s transition team after he spread a false conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton that led to shots being fired in pizza restaurant.

While working for his father, Michael Flynn Jr tweeted an erroneous theory that Clinton’s allies had been running a paedophile ring in the Comet Ping Pong pizza parlour in Washington.

Even after a man on Sunday fired a rifle in the restaurant, in an incident apparently sparked by the conspiracy theory, Flynn said on Twitter that the fake news would “remain a story” until proven false.

Michael G Flynn🇺🇸 (@mflynnJR) Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many "coincidences" tied to it. https://t.co/8HA9y30Yfp

The incident has heightened concerns about the incoming administration’s fondness for fake news and raised further questions about the suitability of Flynn Sr, who has also shared bogus stories on social media.

Mike Pence, the vice-president-elect, initially denied that Flynn’s son was working for the troubled Trump transition team. But on Tuesday he admitted on CNN that Flynn Jr had been helping his father, but that was “no longer the case”.

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The New York Times reported that Flynn Jr had planned to work for his father as part of the national security council team, and started the process of getting national security clearance.

Since the election the Twitter postings of Flynn Sr have been uncontroversial. But days before the vote he tweeted a “must read” link to a story falsely claiming that Clinton’s emails contained proof of money-laundering and child abuse.

Flynn also promoted conspiracy theorists throughout the campaign. He encouraged his followers to read a book by Mike Cernovich, whose website has suggested Clinton’s campaign chairman was part of a “sex cult with connections to human trafficking”. Flynn also tagged white nationalist Jared Wyand on social media.

Speaking to the the New York Times, Michael Hayden, the former CIA and National Security Agency director, said: “The national security adviser should have a moderating effect on the instincts of the president, and it remains to be seen if Mike can do that.”

Julianne Smith, a former deputy national security adviser to the vice-president, Joe Biden, said she was deeply troubled by Flynn’s tendency to promote fake news. She told the Associated Press his job would be to “ensure that the White House is focused at all times on all of the threats that the United States faces abroad”.

Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Flynn’s willingness to promote fake news “raises profound questions about his suitability for this important position”.

Tom Nichols, a professor at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where Flynn obtained a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies in 2001, said: “If the national security adviser is going to be the direct conduit between the president and the national security world, of course it’s a concern that that adviser is being taken in by conspiracy theories and fake news.”