Justice department told Trump administration that national security adviser might be vulnerable to blackmail, says report, as claims of secret talks swirl

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Donald Trump’s administration was warned by the justice department about national security adviser Michael Flynn’s communications with Russia, the Associated Press has reported, adding to questions about the senior aide’s future.

Hours after the White House said the president was “evaluating” allegations that Flynn lied about secret communications with Russia and misled the vice-president, Mike Pence, sources familiar with the situation were cited by the Associated Press as saying the Trump administration was aware “for weeks” of a justice department warning that Flynn might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.

The Washington Post first reported on the DoJ’s warning, which came in late December from then acting attorney general Sally Yates.

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Yates was fired by Trump in January after she refused to defend his travel ban. According to the Post, Yates’s concerns that Flynn lied about the nature of his communications with Russia were shared by James Clapper, the outgoing director of national intelligence, and John Brennan, then the director of the CIA.

The allegations come as Trump’s administration faces widespread calls from Democrats to fire Flynn from his post. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that the president was “evaluating the situation”.



“He is speaking to Vice-President Pence relative to the conversation he had with General Flynn and also speaking to various other people about what he considers the single most important subject there is: our national security,” Spicer told reporters at the White House.



Spicer also made clear to reporters that “the statement is what the president’s current thinking is”.

But the noncommittal update appeared to conflict with remarks made moments earlier by White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. “General Flynn has the full confidence of the president,” she told reporters.

The confusion was seized on by observers including David Axelrod, former strategist for Barack Obama. “Judging from WH statements this afternoon, @POTUS either has ‘full confidence in Flynn’ or he is ‘evaluating the situation’. Is that clear?” he tweeted.

Earlier Trump sidestepped questions over the issue during a brief press conference with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Standing beside Trudeau, the president took only two questions from certain American media: the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group, which reportedly struck a deal for better coverage with his election campaign in 2016, and rightwing website the Daily Caller.

Neither asked about the controversy swirling around Flynn, a fierce champion of Trump during the election campaign. White House officials have been reviewing the former general’s contacts with Russia before Trump took office and whether he discussed the possibility of lifting US sanctions on the country. This could potentially be in violation of a law banning private citizens from engaging in foreign policy.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump attended a joint press conference with the visiting Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, at the White House on Monday. Photograph: Xinhua / Barcroft Images

Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, had initially denied discussing sanctions with the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, during the transition. Pence went before TV cameras to repeat the denial and defend Flynn.

But last week, when reports suggested that sanctions may indeed have been discussed, Flynn conceded he could not remember with 100% certainty. Pence is said to be troubled by the possibility that he was misled.

The controversy comes as the White House deals with national security problems including North Korea’s reported ballistic missile launch, new tensions with Iran and a military raid in Yemen that did not go to plan. The national security council is said to be in disarray as it adapts to Trump’s inexperience and Twitter habit.

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Trump made reference to North Korea during Monday’s press conference, promising: “We will deal with that very strongly.”

The president spent the weekend at his private club in Florida with the Japanese prime minister, Shinzō Abe, where questions were raised over his handling of classified information after social media posts showed him and Abe sitting with aides in a public dining room at the Mar-a-Lago estate following North Korea’s missile test.

However, Spicer insisted to reporters that the only discussion in the dining room focused on logistics for an upcoming press statement and that Trump was insisting that it take place at his private club and not a nearby Hampton Inn.

Democrats, eager to probe Trump’s alleged links to Russia, which intelligence agencies concluded worked to damage his election rival Hillary Clinton, have called for Flynn’s dismissal. Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, said on Monday: “Michael Flynn’s conduct was alarming enough before his secret communications with the Russians were exposed. Now we have a national security adviser who cannot be trusted not to put Putin before America.”

Despite the controversy, Spicer told reporters that Flynn had been performing all “his daily functions” of his job as national security adviser.

Flynn could be the first major casualty of the fledgling administration but others may soon follow. The White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and press secretary Spicer are also subjects of whispering campaigns less than a month after Trump moved into the Oval Office.

Politico reported that Trump has told several people that he is “particularly displeased” with Flynn and has “occasionally expressed unhappiness” to Spicer about his handling of the daily press briefing. Spicer has made false claims, displayed a short temper and become a subject of ridicule on the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live.

Priebus could also be in jeopardy after being the subject of some very public criticism, especially over the chaotic implementation of an executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Chris Ruddy, chief executive of the conservative media organisation Newsmax and a Trump confidant, hinted that Trump might remove him, the New York Times reported. “He doesn’t waste a lot of time,” Ruddy said of Trump. “If he thinks somebody is not performing, he moves pretty quickly.” However, the president expressed his complete confidence in Priebus to reporters on Monday. Trump insisted that his chief of staff was not doing a good job but, instead, a great job.

Stephen Miller, 31, senior policy adviser, is seemingly in the ascendant after being singled out for praise by the president on Twitter after aggressive TV performances on Sunday.

Trump's cabinet Confirmed

James Mattis (Defense), John Kelly (Homeland Security), Rex Tillerson (State), Elaine Chao (Transportation), Nikki Haley (United Nations), Betsy DeVos (Education), Jeff Sessions (Attorney General), Tom Price (Health and Human Services), Steve Mnuchin (Treasury), David Shulkin (Veterans Affairs), Scott Pruitt (Environmental Protection Agency), Wilbur Ross (Commerce), Ryan Zinke (Interior), Rick Perry (Energy), Ben Carson (Housing and Urban Development), Sonny Perdue (Agriculture), Alexander Acosta (Labor) Awaiting Senate approval

Linda McMahon (Small Business Association), Mick Mulvaney (Office of Management and Budget director), Robert Lighthizer (US trade representative) Withdrawn

Andrew Puzder (Labor) Not yet announced

Council of Economic Advisers chair



Miller told Face the Nation on CBS: “We have a judiciary that has taken far too much power and become in many cases a supreme branch of government.

“Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.”

The comments appalled governance watchdogs and Democrats. Chris Coons, a senator for Delaware, said of Miller: “The idea that a senior adviser to the president would go on camera and say the president’s authority will not be questioned shows both a striking lack of understanding of the structure of our government and a complete lack of respect for judicial independence.”