Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, has pleaded guilty to charges filed against him by special counsel Robert Mueller in the ongoing Russia investigation.

With legal bills mounting and a felony indictment for lying to the FBI on his record, Flynn's star has fallen rapidly since his days as a decorated lieutenant general and counterterrorism strategist. As part of his guilty plea he is now reportedly cooperating with the Mueller investigation, and seems poised to implicate those in the president's circle in the Russia case.

Here's how Flynn's roller coaster career led him to Friday's plea hearing: