Two more members have resigned from the Rhode Island Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors (bringing the total number of resignations to eight) in response to Mike Flynn being named to the newest class of inductees.
Due to the holiday season and so much other news, especially about Trump lately this news about disgraced former General and “one Scaramucci length” National Security Advisor Mike Flynn didn’t get much attention. Oh, did I forget to mention he got pardoned by Trump for his felonies? Not to get too technical with the law but legally (as in via TWO separate SCOTUS rulings) acceptance of a Presidential pardon is an admission of guilt. Which means that those crimes/convictions the pardon covered can be used against someone in future proceedings. In fact in one of the SCOTUS cases it resulted in a guy being executed by hanging!
Mike Flynn is a traitor. Perhaps not by the strict definition set forth in the Constitution as we were not “at war” (only a vote of Congress can declare a war where the provision becomes applicable) but he betrayed the United States. Committed crimes. Felonies. If you followed the case Flynn, probably in large measure to protect his son was all set to plead guilty in a sweetheart deal in exchange for cooperation with federal prosecutors. Flynn’s son was a partner with him in their consulting firm and under legal exposure himself.
The presiding judge was less than thrilled with the deal. In fact, he ripped both Flynn and prosecutors a new one and made it clear if they insisted on going through with the guilty plea he wouldn’t be letting Flynn off the hook – at least not to the terms of the deal and in fact would, instead of probation toss him in jail for a while, telling Flynn he’d sold his country out!. The judge made it clear to both sides they’d better go back and show quite a bit more “cooperation” from Flynn than they’d presented. I’d encourage you to go to the Wikipedia link and scroll down to the material under the “Delayed Sentencing” heading. Flynn had been represented by a prestigious DC law firm, Covington and Burling. He dumped them for… Sydney Powell! Yes, THAT Sydney Powell and the whole matter blew up into a sh*t show.
The point is that Flynn had illegal dealings with Russia (the title pic shows him cozy with Pootie at a dinner in Russia where he was getting feted) but also Turkey. That’s another long and sordid tale, the short version of which is that Flynn was in on discussions about maybe kidnapping an Edorgan opponent who’d gotten legal residency in the U.S. and spiriting the guy back to Turkey. (We know what would have happened to the guy then) So I don’t think it’s unfair to say Flynn is a disgraced former General and National Security Advisor. What he has been for years is a loyal Trump supporter. And god forbid Trump getting back in the WH but he’d be tapped for a top role if that were to happen.
Sadly, and infuriatingly so Trump isn’t Flynn’s only “friend in high places.” Back up there in his native Rhode Island as The Providence Journal reports he’s got a pal who thinks poor little Mikey isn’t merely misunderstood, or got unfairly picked on. Oh no. He’s a great American. A Patriot and of the highest order as far as the state’s “Historian Laureate” Patrick Conley is concerned. Conley persuaded enough fellow Board Members to get Flynn selected to be part of Rhode Island’s Hall of Fame! I actually recall reading recently as soon as this went down there was immediate blowback with six Board members resigning in protest. That included some going on the record with their criticisms.
There was plenty of dismay expressed, and others seemed to want to hold out and see whether Conley and the others who went along with this “WFT were they thinking?” decision would come to their senses. Conley and his cronies have not. According to the Journal Conley sees honoring Flynn is a chance to “vindicate” him in his home state. Despite, as the article goes on to note Flynn did in fact plead guilty to his crimes. That’s part of the court record even if the whole thing blew up when Powell started doing her thing and prevailed on Trump to push AG “Biliruben” Barr (biliruben is an enzyme that gives feces its color) to drop the case before Flynn was sentenced and Trump pardoning him. Hence the reaction by a half dozen Board Members to resign right away. And now:
That part of Flynn’s history − and more − led to two more resignations this week, in addition to the six who resigned within 24 hours of the December 14 vote to formally induct Flynn at a ceremony this spring into the R.I. Heritage Hall of Fame.
Now, Flynn could let his pals off the hook and issue a statement saying he was honored to have friend back home support him but in the interest of maintaining the image of his home state’s Hall of Fame we was respectfully declining. Ok. Done laughing? Trump will admit he got his ass kicked by Biden in 2020, admit he’s a criminal himself and cut a deal for probation in exchange for withdrawing from politics AND political commentary before Flynn would turn this down!
As I noted, these latest two (retired University of Rhode Island Professor Roberta Feather and John Parrillo, who has taught history at Salve Regina University) have clearly stated their reasons:
In a resignation letter obtained by The Journal, Parrillo said he was “saddened to the core” by the vote to induct a man with Flynn’s “politics and far-right militaristic vision for America” and by the board’s unwillingness to reconsider in response to the “huge outcry.”
“For the last seven years, it has been my [privilege] to nominate at least seven Rhode Islanders into our RI Hall of Fame. A fresco painter. A Naval historian. A Hollywood film-maker. Two creators of a music festival. An early father of the American Industrial Revolution and the creator of at least 14 Black colleges,” he wrote.
“With a most heavy heart,” he said, he now feels compelled to resign, his work unfinished.
I mentioned something earlier about the initial resignations and some waiting to see if the Board would accept they’d made a mistake:
In her own Dec. 26 letter of resignation, Feather said she was reluctant to resign immediately, choosing to wait a while “to see if the remaining Board members … would take appropriate action to correct this egregious error of judgment, but it appears the board will do no such thing.”
“Their short sightedness may have destroyed the Hall of Fame. Respect and credibility has disappeared,” she wrote.
Regarding Conley’s statement to the Journal defending his stance she went on to add “Mr. Flynn is not worthy of vindication.” Feather had raised issues with how the Board has been operating and been rebuffed, and not kindly. She’d previously called for the resignation of the Board’s President, Lawrence Reid. Reid didn’t respond to her, or to the Providence Journal when they reached out. Feather is not alone on this. One of the six who resigned immediately offered some thoughts of her own:
In a conversation with The Journal, Ann Marie Maguire called the Flynn vote a last straw amid her own mounting concerns about the haphazard way financial records are kept, the way she felt she was treated after voting against the induction of Conley’s wife, Gail, into the Hall of Fame, and what she perceived as Reid’s move to limit debate over nominees.
“Reid announced that he was the only voice that counted; no [vetting] committee would exist,” said Maguire, describing herself as a one-time and now former “Trump fan.”
What we have is a mutation of the Trump effect. Devaluing things that were actual meaningful honors. For example Trump awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to worthless assholes and even criminals. Like former Maricopa County (AZ) Sheriff Joe Arpaio and even worse Rush f**king Limbaugh. Now we have Trump fanatics at the state level getting in on the action. The whole thing makes me sick inside.
If you dig a little deeper into the back story on Patrick Conley and the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, you see a guy desperately trying to be relevant and it’s at once predictable and pathetic and pretty funny. He actually is the Historian Laureate of RI and was re-appointed in a non-public, no other nominations, backroom deal. This allows him to spout RWNJ b.s. in newspaper editorials. This, and his dictatorial presidency of the Hall of Fame, are really all he has. He is an inductee himself, for no good reason except marrying well even though he has fairly decent credentials. His son, Patrick Jr., is an inductee…a high-priced and valued attorney…so OK. And, as retiring board member Ann Marie Maguire notes above, so is his wife Gail (Maguire did not vote for her and suffered abuse for it). Although you might think this is just nepotism, it appears that Gail actually deserves it and Patrick is riding on the back of his beautiful, rich, successful, philanthropic wife. She’s the brilliant land developer who has given away nearly all her wealth for good causes. Her induction pronouncement contains at the end quite a nasty dig at her meaningless, Mike Flynn-loving husband: ” it was not merely a portion of her assets, it was nearly all of her assets given the failure of her husband to accumulate an adequate pension or any long-term investments.” Ouch!! 🤕🤣
Thank you so much for the clarifying light on the RI goings on. Most of us would have no idea about any of this. It’s important because it’s symptomatic of the cloudy horizon we’re facing at this time in our history. Knowledge is power.
I don’t think Gale came from money at all. Her first husband was far from wealthy. Last week her daughter was caught shoplifting. They are two peas in a pod.
Pat, jr was never inducted into the RIHHF. THE Conleys lost their money by making very poor business deals.
He should called into active duty, stripped of his rank and benefits, and sent to a military prison.
If there were any true justice in the world, he’d be in the belly of a hammerhead shark headed south of Easter Island. Sorry Hunter for the substitution.