US President Donald Trump has pardoned his former top security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Former National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn leaves after the delay in his sentencing hearing at US District Court in Washington, DC, in 2018. Photo: AFP
The president said the widely expected act of clemency was his "Great Honor".
Flynn was among former aides to Trump convicted during a justice department investigation into alleged Russian election interference.
He admitted in 2017 to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia's envoy, then tried to withdraw his plea.
Flynn responded to the president's announcement by posting a tweet containing a US flag emoji and a Biblical verse, Jeremiah 1:19.
The verse says: "'They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord."
US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler led Democratic condemnation of the move.
He issued a quick statement saying: "This pardon is undeserved, unprincipled, and one more stain on President Trump's rapidly diminishing legacy."
Who is Michael Flynn?
He was an early and ardent supporter of Trump during the 2016 campaign, though he had been a life-long Democrat before.
Flynn was among the new president's first appointments - Trump brought him on just days after winning the election.
The two saw eye-to-eye on many issues, including the advantages of closer ties with Russia, renegotiating the Iran deal and combating the threat from Islamic State militants.
But Trump's predecessor, President Barack Obama, had warned against hiring Flynn. In 2014, the Obama administration fired Flynn from his role as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, citing issues of mismanagement and temperament.
Flynn, who served three decades in the US Army, complained he was ousted for telling hard truths about the war on Islamist extremism.
- BBC