REPORT: Acting AG Told WH That Flynn Could Be Vulnerable to Russian Blackmail
A new report in the Washington Post tonight says that former acting Attorney General Sally Yates had spoken to the White House last month with concerns about National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, including the possibility that he could be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
Yates, who was fired by the White House weeks ago after telling the DOJ not to defend President Trump‘s travel ban, told the White House it looked like Flynn misled them about what he said in his conversation with the Russian ambassador late last year.
The WaPo report provides this account of what happened after Vladimir Putin said there would be no Russian retaliation for sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in December:
Intelligence analysts began to search for clues that could help explain Putin’s move. The search turned up Kislyak’s communications, which the FBI routinely monitors, and the phone call in question with Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general with years of intelligence experience.
From that call and subsequent intercepts, FBI agents wrote a secret report summarizing Flynn’s discussions with Kislyak.
Yates, then the deputy attorney general, considered Flynn’s comments in the intercepted call to be “highly significant” and “potentially illegal,” according to an official familiar with her thinking.
Yates spoke to intel chief James Clapper and CIA head John Brennan, who agreed that the Trump White House should be briefed, while FBI head James Comey reportedly opposed notifying them because of “concerns that it could complicate the agency’s investigation.”
WaPo says Comey eventually “backed away from his opposition” and Yates and another national security official spoke to the White House counsel on the matter.
The most recent comment from the White House on this issue is Sean Spicer‘s statement that President Trump is “evaluating the situation.” That came an hour after Kellyanne Conway said Trump has full confidence in Flynn.
[image via Defense Intelligence Agency]
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