Privately, aides to Vice President Mike Pence expressed frustration. | AP Photo Pence was told Flynn didn't discuss sanctions, aides say The vice president defended the National Security Adviser in January when questions first surfaced about Flynn's contact with Russian ambassador.

Reports that national security adviser Michael Flynn may have discussed U.S. sanctions with the Russian ambassador before President Donald Trump’s inauguration has revived concerns about Flynn’s relationships with Moscow—and threatens to entangle a member of the administration who has so far mostly dodged controversy: Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence said in a Jan. 15 appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Flynn’s conversations with the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were “strictly coincidental” and had nothing to do with the Obama administration’s decision to punish Russia for meddling in the November election, which U.S. intelligence agencies agree was intended to help boost Trump's prospects. “They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States’ decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia,” Pence told CBS.


An administration official told POLITICO that Pence’s remarks came after a conversation with Flynn and were guided by that conversation — leaving open the possibility that Flynn misled the Vice President just as he repeatedly denied the allegations to the Washington Post before acknowledging the topic may have been discussed.

Privately, Pence aides expressed frustration at their boss being placed in such a position.

Even if Pence was not aware that sanctions were discussed between Flynn and the Russian ambassador when he made his comments, the episode could leave him with diminished standing, concerning those around him. For the national security adviser to mislead the Vice President on such a sensitive issue with impunity would seem to send a signal about Pence's standing in the West Wing, a Pence adviser said.

Pence has been a bastion of credibility within the administration, as the president himself has trafficked repeatedly in unfounded allegations about crowd size at his inauguration and voter fraud in November.

Reports in The Washington Post and The New York Times — sourced to numerous current and former national security officials — indicated that Flynn suggested a round of sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama on Russia could be amended by Trump. The conversations represent a precedent-breaking and possibly illegal move, and raise questions about whether Flynn—who was at the time a private citizen, and whose White House appointment did not require Senate confirmation—signaled an intention to reverse Obama’s move after Trump’s inauguration. Russia opted not to retaliate against the sanctions, which have not been lifted.

After initially denying the allegations, Flynn told the Post through a spokesperson “that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.”

Pence wasn’t the only administration official to explain away Flynn’s contact with the Russian envoy. Press Secretary Sean Spicer, then a transition official, said Jan. 13 that Flynn’s calls were about scheduling a call for Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin after the swearing in. “That was it,” Spicer said at the time. “Plain and simple.”

Spicer went on to add: “I can confirm having spoken to him about it is those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the United States took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions.”

Senior Democrats called for an immediate inquiry into Flynn's actions.

The top Democrat on the House oversight committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), asked Republicans to investigate Flynn, saying he has "grave questions" about Flynn's honesty — or whether other White House officials were aware of those discussions.

"If this new report is true, we need to ask not only whether General Flynn should be leading our national security efforts, but whether he should even hold a security clearance," Cummings said in a statement.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer also called for a full investigation to determine whether any U.S. laws were broken. And Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), ranking member on the House intelligence committee, said that if the reports are true, Flynn should "no longer serve in this administration or any other."

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin urged the Trump administration to release transcripts of any phone conversations Flynn had with the Russian ambassador. “The American people deserve the truth, and I call on the White House to provide a public accounting of General Flynn’s conversations with Russian officials from 2016,” the Illinois Democrat said.

And Sen. Claire McCaskill, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey Friday asking him to come before the committee for a closed-doors briefing; the Missouri Democrat said she wanted Comey to come “as soon as possible” to discuss any FBI investigation related to Flynn’s contacts with the Russian government.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the oversight committee, hasn't indicated whether he intends to pursue the allegations against Flynn. His office declined to comment on the latest news reports, as did the office of House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

Flynn, a retired lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency head under the Obama administration, has separately come under criticism for delivering a paid speech and dining with President Vladimir Putin in Russia in 2015. Cummings last week joined other House Democrats to call for an inquiry into whether Flynn's trip may have violated the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, which prohibits U.S. officials from accepting payments from foreign governments.

Flynn's son, who was once a Trump adviser, was fired from the transition after stoking a bizarre conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton and child exploitation on Twitter. The younger Flynn later celebrated what he called Trump’s “Muslim ban” on Twitter — even as the administration denied the travel ban was aimed at Muslims — before deleting his account.

A person close to Trump said "a lot of people are gunning for Flynn, but I think the president likes him."

"The president thinks he's loyal and has expertise," this person added. "Among others, there's this perception he is wild, outside the box, not suited for the office. But I don't think Donald thinks that at all."

According to pool reports, Flynn was among White House officials who joined Trump and Pence on Friday for their meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Josh Dawsey contributed reporting.