The question of what Pence knew and when first arose months earlier after reports surfaced that Flynn discussed sanctions with Russia’s ambassador to Washington despite Pence’s public claim to the contrary. It’s also one that was posed after Pence stood before news cameras and claimed that Trump had fired FBI director James Comey because of a memo written by the deputy attorney general — only for Trump to later reveal he planned to fire Comey regardless. …

He was firmly in charge [of the transition], yet it’s not the first time Pence has claimed to have been unaware of crucial information that surfaced during the transition period. Pence claimed in a March interview with Fox News that it was the “first I’d heard of” Flynn earning hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby for a Turkish businessman, which ultimately prompted Flynn to register as a foreign agent. But Flynn’s pro-Turkey lobbying work had been in the news for months before that March interview. Pence had also received a letter in November from the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee Rep. Elijah Cummings describing Flynn’s foreign work.