Robert M. Cornicelli, a veteran and advocate for veterans and the developmentally disabled who is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination to represent New York’s First Congressional district, has announced that retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, a former national security adviser to President Trump, has endorsed his candidacy.
In a statement issued by Mr. Cornicelli’s campaign, Mr. Flynn said, “Throughout my life I’ve met so many people who love this country, but few have a love that is as genuine and strong as that of my friend, Capt. Robert M. Cornicelli. . . .” He said that he had met Mr. Cornicelli at the Defense Intelligence Agency, of which Mr. Flynn was the director from 2012 to 2014. “Since then, I’ve had the privilege of following his career and I’m proud to be by his side as he steps up to serve his country again.”
Mr. Cornicelli served in both the Navy and the Army. “Capt. Cornicelli is, in every sense of the word, a patriot,” Mr. Flynn said. “He served our country in two branches of the military and has time and again put his own life on hold to fight for freedom and defend the lives of the American people.”
Mr. Cornicelli, for his part, said “General Flynn stood up against the inept Obama/Biden administration and the deep state of D.C.” Mr. Cornicelli said in the same statement, “General Flynn believes our rights come from our creator and are enumerated in the Constitution. No radical left socialist will ever take them away. I am honored to be endorsed by General Flynn and stand ready to work alongside patriots like him, defending our fellow veterans, members of the developmentally disabled community, law enforcement officers, health care workers, educators, and all Americans against radical left activists’ onslaught on our rights.”
Mr. Flynn resigned as national security adviser in the first weeks of the Trump administration following reports that he gave inaccurate information to then-Vice President Pence about a conversation he had had with a Russian ambassador regarding sanctions. He later pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. as part of the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Trump pardoned him in November 2020, and Mr. Flynn then sought to withdraw his guilty plea.
