In his article for RIA Novosti, Lepekhin drew attention to the recent reports saying that Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn named RT and two other Russia-linked firms as sources of income in his amended disclosure, dated March 31.
"That means Flynn has officially confirmed and, thus far legitimized the information that was previously obtained illegally by the US investigation," Lepekhin noted.
Furthermore, it was also reported that Flynn agreed to testify in the FBI's Russian inquiry in exchange for immunity.
According to Lepekhin, Flynn's testimony could be used as leverage to impeach Donald Trump.
On March 20, FBI Director James Comey publicly confirmed an investigation into alleged Russian "interference" in the US presidential election as well as whether the Trump campaign had any connections with Russia.
"The FBI as part of our counterintelligence mission is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts," Comey told the House Intelligence Committee, as quoted by Foreign Policy magazine.
Lepekhin suggested that there is a possibility that the information obtained during the investigation could be manipulated to exert substantial pressure on Trump's cabinet and the President himself.
"At an appropriate time FBI investigators may start publishing their conclusions (submitted as the results of the investigation) without bothering to back them with concrete evidence; responding to the questions concerning this evidence [the FBI] will say that they cannot provide it 'because of the secrecy of the investigation' or 'for reasons of national security'," Lepekhin said.
He remarked that Washington had no scruples about using flawed evidence to invade Iraq.
Likewise, Lepekhin noted, Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic was detained and died in prison following the US-led NATO invasion of Yugoslavia; however, in 2016 the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) admitted that Milosevic was not responsible for war crimes he was accused of.
"In the case of Trump, the goal of 'investigating' Russia's alleged meddling in the American elections is the resignation of the president," the Russian scholar believes.
According to the scholar, Flynn's testimony could be used to blow up yet another Watergate.
"Those who are motivated to participate in seeking the 'Russian trace' in the US [presidential] election are not interested in the truth. This search is covering up the Democrats' inability to reconcile with the reality and their desire to keep power at all costs," Lepekhin said.
Gevorg Mirzayan, Associate Professor of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, shares a similar stance.
In his recent op-ed for RIA Novosti, Mirzayan pointed out that Flynn is currently facing a painful dilemma over his lobbying for Turkey while being a Trump aide. Given this, Flynn could be pressured into giving "the right" testimony about the Trump campaign's alleged ties with Russia, Mirzayan said.
It is obvious that Moscow has neither interfered in the US elections, nor "colluded" with Trump's team, but who cares when what's at stake is power.
