WATCH: General Flynn explains how he was targeted by Obama’s intel community to Dan Bongino

In an exclusive interview on The Dan Bongino Show, General Mike Flynn explained how he was targeted by former President Barack Obama’s intel community.

Conservative radio host Dan Bongino welcomed Flynn, “an honest to goodness American hero,” on his podcast to cover Obama’s bizarre fascination with the esteemed guest, Flynn’s battles to restore the intelligence sphere, and the real reason the former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey targeted him.

President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to his former national security advisor on Nov. 25, just in time for Thanksgiving. Flynn also served as a senior advisor to the president during his 2016 campaign. He is beloved by Trump supporters and is widely-regarded as a victim of the Russian collusion investigations.

Bongino asked for Flynn’s thoughts following his complete exoneration. The retired lieutenant general publicly thanked Trump for the historic presidential “Pardon of Innocence” on the following day. “This was just a tremendous moment for the country,” Bongino stated.

“From the beginning, you had been in our corner,” Flynn responded. “Speaking with professionals like you and letting your audience know that your audience came through for my family, I have many times thanked them for their support, kindness, generosity, and frankly for their inspiration to keep us fighting.”

Adding that his “admiration” for Flynn is “endless,” Bongino replied: “It was an honour to fight the fight. I knew from the start—as anyone with a sane mind and an IQ in the three digits knew—that you were railroaded. It was really disgusting.”

Bongino called the hit job against Flynn “one of the most grotesque abuses” of the “justice system,” because “there was no justice done here.”

Shortly after he was sworn in as the national security advisor, Flynn resigned when information surfaced that he had purportedly misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature and content of his communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. His tenure was the shortest in the history of the position.

In 2017, Flynn formalized a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to plead guilty to a felony count of “willfully and knowingly” lying to FBI agents Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka during an interview in the White House about conversations that Flynn had with Kislyak.

Bongino noted that Flynn never viewed that as “some confrontational interview,” just “part of the national security apparatus.” Flynn explained that he underwent immense pressure in a “threatening environment.” At the heart of his decision making, “family is paramount,” Flynn emphasized.

After a probe launched by the Department of Justice, it was revealed that “substantial exculpatory evidence was withheld from Flynn and his attorneys” that established that the FBI agents “did not believe” Flynn had lied during the interview.

The DOJ announced that it intended to drop all charges against Flynn on May 7 of this year. Federal district judge Emmet Sullivan ruled the matter to be placed on hold.

In September, FBI Special Agent William Barnett found that Flynn was targeted by the Special Counsel Office to “get Trump.” Barnett stated there was no basis for an investigation into the alleged collusion. “It’s a total fabrication,” Bongino quipped.

“It was a real setup. And of course, I’m the target,” Flynn fired on-air. “It had nothing to do with crimes or anything that occurred. It actually had to do with trying to, not only damage, but get Donald Trump out of office—to remove him in some capacity after he defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.”

Flynn noted that he felt bad for Trump because he could not “stand by his side throughout” the takedown saga. Following public prodding, Flynn told Bongino: “[Trump’s] not the one who set this up. It was set up by the previous administration.”

Then he questioned why Obama focused on him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un while transition discussions took place. “Nobody’s asked Barack Obama that question. Nobody’s ever pinned him down,” Flynn declared.

It was later discovered that the collusion scandal was used as a pretext for the Obama administration to spy on the Trump campaign. Then after Trump was elected, the Democratic establishment conjured the impeachment hoax.

“People weren’t coming after Mike Flynn or Donald Trump. At the end of the day, they were coming after America,” Flynn asserted.

Flynn’s defense team filed an October motion to disqualify Sullivan from his position in the trials after his blatant demonstration of bias against Flynn that began in December 2018.

In his handling of the case, Flynn’s defense team also alleged that Sullivan “echoed” mainstream media talking points from NBC News host Rachel Maddow and former Judge John Gleeson’s Washington Post op-ed. “It was improper for the court to allow extra-judicial media commentary to affect his conduct,” the document read.

While Sullivan was initially advised by the court to act with “appropriate dispatch,” he sat on the case and refused to recuse himself despite demonstrating personal animus against Flynn in the courtroom setting.

“It was all political. It was all about finding ways we can target this guy,” Flynn said. “They dug into my entire life.” He then called those left-wing operatives “snakes.”

The “greatest takeaway” is that “the American people are awake,” Bongino concluded. “Even the most jaded eyes of history are going to view you as one of the great American patriots of this time and the people who came after you as the traitors to our republic and the ideas that it stands for. I will take that to the grave.”