USA TODAY International Edition
Search begins to replace Flynn
Disputed call with Russian ambassador sinks national security adviser
Less than a month after taking office, President Trump must find a new national security adviser after Michael Flynn resigned for lying about his talks with a Russian ambassador, and the administration now faces questions about what the White House knew about the situation.
Citing reports that the Justice Department warned the White House a month ago that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail because he had misrepresented his talks with the Russian official, Democrats and other Trump critics made clear they would continue to press Trump and the administration about the incident, including Russia’s overall role in the 2016 election.
“The Trump administration has yet to be forthcoming about who was aware of Flynn’s conversations with the ambassador and whether he was acting on the instructions of the president or any other officials, or with their knowledge,” said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
A prominent Republican, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said Flynn’s resignation “is a troubling indication of the dysfunction of the current national security apparatus” — and “also raises fur- ther questions about the Trump administration’s intentions toward Vladimir Putin’s Russia.”
McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, cited “statements by the President suggesting moral equivalence between the United States and Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine, annexation of Crimea, threats to our NATO allies, and attempted interference in American elections.”
For his part, Trump took to social media to protest news leaks.
While not mentioning Flynn, Trump tweeted: “The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N. Korea etc?”
The root of the first high- pro- file resignation of the Trump administration: a phone call.
During a conversation late last year with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, Flynn discussed then forthcoming sanctions the Obama administration was placing on Russia over involvement in the U. S. election, including the hacking the emails of Democratic Party officials close to nominee Hillary Clinton.
Flynn initially denied discussing sanctions with Kislyak — a falsehood repeated in public statements by Vice President Pence, among other administration officials. Aides to the president said Pence protested and played a role in discussions about what to do with Flynn.
“Misleading the vice president really was the key here,” presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway told NBC’s Today show Tuesday.
On Monday, just hours before Flynn announced his resignation, Conway said the national security adviser enjoyed the full confidence of the president. She told NBC that Flynn changed his mind later and resigned because “he knew he had become a lightning rod.”
While Trump named an acting national security adviser — retired three- star general Joseph Keith Kellogg Jr. — the White House has floated other names to take over the post full time.
They include Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of U. S. Central Command and protégé of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and retired Gen. David Petraeus, a former CIA director who resigned after acknowledging he gave classified information to a biographer with whom he was having an affair.
In his resignation letter, Flynn said that, because of the “fast pace of events,” he “inadvertently” gave Pence and others “incomplete information” about his call with the Russian ambassador. “I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology,” Flynn wrote.
While a close adviser to Trump during his presidential campaign, Flynn was in trouble from Day One. Critics cited his past ties to Russia, and what appeared to be signs of disorganization within the National Security Council.