Trump ‘evaluating’ security aide after potential law breach
‘Knives out’ for Flynn over conversations with Russia, while advisers say White House is shutting them out
DONALD TRUMP was last night evaluating whether to keep his national security adviser, after it emerged Michael Flynn may have broken the law in conversations with Russian officials.
The White House is already struggling to quell dissent and mistrust within the National Security Council (NSC), where many civil servants feel their advice is being ignored, taking to calling the new administration “the regime”.
Mr Trump and Mike Pence, the vicepresident, are discussing Mr Flynn’s future, according to Sean Spicer, the president’s press secretary. Other White House sources claimed that “the knives are out” for the retired general.
Mr Flynn, who was previously forced to resign as head of the Defence Intelligence Agency, stands accused of discussing the lifting of sanctions on Moscow with the Russian ambassador in Washington before Mr Trump took office, in an act which may be illegal.
The White House previously said that he had contacted the ambassador in December for a Christmas greeting, but this account was challenged by recordings of the conversation by an intelligence agency.
The NSC has traditionally brought together expertise from intelligence and defence agencies, advising the president on everything from counterterrorism and foreign policy to nuclear deterrence.
But in the first three weeks of the new administration, staffers have found themselves increasingly shut out of the West Wing, with decisions largely being made without adhering to their reports, as protocol dictates.
Sources who asked not to be named for fear of retribution told The Daily Telegraph they are worried about the White House’s impatience with bureaucracy and disregard for the institutions of government. At a recent meeting with NSC civil servants, Mr Flynn reportedly answered a question relating to these concerns by telling staff that, having won the election, this was the White House’s prerogative.
Mr Trump’s decision to include Steve Bannon, his chief strategist, as a key decision maker in NSC meetings has also been seen as a dangerous break with a US tradition in which political operatives are kept out of decisions that are critical to national security.
Further concerns over security protocol were raised yesterday after it emerged that Mr Trump had responded from his dinner table in a public setting to the news at the weekend that North Korea had test-fired a ballistic missile.
Mr Trump had been dining with Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, at his Mar-a-Lago club, surrounded by dozens of club members.
Aides surrounded the leaders, and used flashlights on their mobile phones to shine light on maps and documents that were laid out over the silverware.
Security experts condemned the casual approach to national security discussions, with some suggesting foreign powers could have hacked the phone’s cameras. Guests at the private members’ resort posted pictures of the incident on social media, as well as other pictures of the president’s visit, including one taken with an aide who purportedly carried the nuclear codes.
Interviewing dozens of civil servants on the frustrations felt by the NSC, the New York Times reported that many staff are kept in the dark about the substance of Mr Trump’s calls with foreign leaders.
Yesterday Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, met Mr Trump at the White House, becoming the third world leader to visit the new president. Mr Trudeau said that despite their disagreements he would not “lecture” the US president on Syrian refugees.