Obama shared concerns about Flynn with Trump,
Previous president ‘wasn’t exactly a fan’ of general, Spicer says
President Obama warned his successor, Donald Trump, against hiring Michael Flynn as national security adviser because of his ties to Russians, officials said Monday.
The warning came two days after the presidential election, during the incoming president’s meeting with Obama in the Oval Office on Nov. 10.
Despite Obama’s warnings, Trump appointed Flynn as national security adviser — and dismissed him less than a month into his presidency.
Trump said Flynn misled the White House about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump’s inauguration.
Though he did not comment in detail about the Oval Office meeting, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Obama made it clear “he wasn’t exactly a fan of Gen. Flynn’s.”
That “shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Spicer said, noting that the outgoing president had fired Flynn as the head of the military’s intelligence unit.
If Obama was so concerned, he should have suspended Flynn’s security clearance when he had the authority to do so, the White House spokesman said.
A former aide to President Obama confirmed the warning, first reported by NBC News.
Another Trump official who confirmed the warning requested anonymity to discuss the private conversation between Obama and Trump.
Flynn is a sensitive matter because he is the subject of federal investigations over his contacts with Russians.
During the meeting in November, the Trump official said, Obama seemed aware of Flynn’s contacts with the Russians, including a trip to Moscow in 2015.
Trump has defended Flynn and questioned why the Obama administration allowed the former Army lieutenant general to have a security clearance.
“General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration - but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that,” Trump tweeted Monday.
The news of Obama’s warnings broke shortly before former Justice Department official Sally Yates testified Monday before a Senate panel about her own warnings that Flynn had lied to administration officials, including Vice President Pence, about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
Flynn, who spoke with Kislyak before Trump took office, initially denied talking with the ambassador about sanctions the Obama administration imposed on Russia over its alleged efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Flynn later acknowledged that the subject may have surfaced in a phone conversation.
Last month, FBI Director James Comey announced that the bureau was investigating possible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the election.
Flynn, whose conversations with the ambassador fueled suspicion about inappropriate contact between the Trump team and Russia, is under investigation by the Pentagon inspector general for failing to inform the Defense Department about accepting payments from foreign governments without the required prior approval.
Flynn’s attorney, Robert Kelner, declined to comment.
Monday, Spicer said Trump stood by his decisions to hire Flynn, then to dismiss him.