Are US spies trying to thwart the president?

The startling fall from office of Michael Flynn, for just 24 days the National Security Adviser to Donald Trump, is on the face of it a classic political tale of misplaced trust and deception. During the transition period between the president’s election in November and his inauguration in January, Gen Flynn was in contact by telephone with the Russian ambassador to Washington.

This hardly seems remarkable since it was known Mr Trump was seeking a new relationship with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. But Gen Flynn had not disclosed the call; and when its existence became known he denied that they had discussed the penalties then being imposed on Russia by Barack Obama when they had. Not for the first time, the lie was his undoing. Inevitably, questions are now being asked about what the president knew and when. Such scandals tend to develop a life of their own, leading who knows where.

If this were just an internal Washington hubbub it would be of little more than passing interest, an indication of naivete on Gen Flynn’s part and of the continuing dysfunctionality of the new White House. But there are potential consequences here that go far beyond American politics. Are we witnessing a concerted attempt by American intelligence agencies to undermine Mr Trump’s national security team, and if so why? Arguably, if the FBI knew Gen Flynn was lying they had a duty to bring this to the public’s notice, though how they knew is another matter. But there is also a suspicion that this has something to do with the Trump policy towards Russia, which many old hands in Washington, with memories of dealing with the Soviet Union, do not like. Their suspicions have not been allayed by the allegations that Russia interfered in the presidential elections by hacking into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

This is all sowing confusion in Western policy towards Moscow just as fighting has erupted in eastern Ukraine and concern is growing elsewhere in the region about Moscow’s intentions, notably in Poland and the Baltic states. They are members of Nato, which began a three-day meeting in Brussels yesterday at a time when policy towards Russia needs to be clear and robust. This is not, therefore, just a matter for the Americans. How to handle a resurgent Russia was always going to be one of the biggest challenges facing the new president. It is early days, but so far it is not going well.