The settlement resolves a civil suit Flynn filed alleging malicious prosecution stemming from the FBI's investigation into his contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential transition. Flynn twice pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents before Trump pardoned him in November 2020.

The agreement, disclosed in court filings on Wednesday, represents a significant financial acknowledgment by the government. While the Trump administration has framed it as correcting a past injustice, critics argue it sets a troubling precedent where the government effectively pays damages to political allies.

The settlement amount was confirmed by the New York Times, though the Washington Post noted that court papers did not initially disclose the figure. The case had been closely watched as a barometer of how aggressively the administration would use the justice system to settle scores from the Russia investigation era.

Flynn served briefly as Trump's first national security adviser before resigning in February 2017. His case became one of the most politically charged chapters of the Mueller investigation.