Stocks plunge after Flynn guilty plea

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO (AA) - Stocks fell significantly Friday after former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to charges he made false statements to the FBI about communicating with Russian officials.

The Dow fell 109.22 points during midday trading after it closed at a record high the previous day at 24,163.13.

The Nasdaq also plunged more than 55 points after closing Thursday at 6,873.97, and the S&P 500 lost more than 13 points after closing at 2,647.58.

The stock market has risen about 33 percent since Donald Trump was elected president on hopes he can deliver on promises to deregulate and cut corporate taxes.

Flynn, who served Trump for a few weeks earlier this year before being fired for lying to Vice President Mike Pence, pleaded guilty to lying about several interactions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak late in 2016.

Court documents that detailed charges against Flynn said he falsely denied asking Kislyak “to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the U.S. had imposed against Russia.”

The Dow initially dropped around 300 points soon after the news of Flynn became public before rallying slightly later in the day.

Flynn promised “full cooperation” with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating links between the Russian government and the Trump’s presidential campaign.

"My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country,” Flynn said in a statement. “I accept full responsibility for my actions.”

Apple, Amazon and Qualcomm all dipped between 1 to 2 percent.