Lawyers for business associates of Gen. Michael Flynn, the former U.S. national security adviser, found out last weekend that the general's legal team decided to cut all the ties with them. The lawyers were questioning Flynn's legal team about the state of their joint-defense agreement for U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections, a well-placed source who is familiar with the investigation told Daily Sabah.

U.S. media outlets reported last week that Flynn's lawyers also notified President Donald Trump's attorneys that they could no longer discuss Mueller's investigation with them.

"Flynn has terminated his defense agreement with all his business associates that are involved in this inquiry. He also told them that he can no longer communicate with them," the source said.

It appears that Flynn didn't inform his partners about his decision until they became concerned about reports over Flynn ending his cooperation with Trump's legal team and started asking about it.

Legal analysts say it is common to stop sharing information and communication with fellow lawyers when it poses a conflict of interest. It is not immediately clear whether Flynn is cooperating with Mueller's investigation as a witness against others, or he has reached a plea bargain on one of the possible charges to receive a limited sentence.

Yet, his decision to end all joint defense agreements with his business associates and Trump's legal team suggests that he has reached some sort of understanding with Mueller.

Flynn's ties with Russia are being investigated because of his exchanges with Russian officials and a trip to Moscow paid for by a Russian state TV channel. U.S. media outlets said Mueller also focused on Flynn's lobbying work for a Turkish businessman which ended immediately after the November elections. Flynn retroactively registered himself as a foreign agent last spring, saying "the engagement could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey."