U.S. Government Agrees to $1.25 Million Settlement in Michael Flynn Suit

The United States government agreed to pay $1.25 million to Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser, to settle a lawsuit in which he claimed he was maliciously prosecuted for lying to federal investigators, according to the full text of the March 2026 settlement agreement obtained by Lawfare.

The settlement resolves a 2023 civil suit in which Flynn alleged that he was wrongfully prosecuted for making false statements to federal agents investigating links between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. He had sought $50 million in damages—a claim that drew scrutiny given that he had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI before receiving a presidential pardon from Trump in November 2020. 

Notably, the settlement does not resolve all of Flynn's pending litigation against the federal government. The document explicitly carves out a separate lawsuit Flynn filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims, in which he alleges that the U.S. Army illegally garnished his military retirement pay after it found that he had accepted compensation from a foreign government source without seeking the required approval from the Department of Defense. In a court filing last month, the Justice Department signaled it may also settle that suit, raising the possibility that Flynn could ultimately receive more than the $1.25 million already agreed upon. 

While the settlement amount had been previously reported by multiple outlets, the full text of the agreement had not been publicly released until now.

Lawfare obtained the document through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this year. The suit was brought by the Civil Service Law Center on behalf of Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes and Senior Editor Anna Bower. The litigation seeks records related to settlement agreements executed by the Trump-era Justice Department.

Read the full text of the Flynn settlement agreement here or below: