Washington (CNN) A former Trump official corrected a claim she made to federal investigators about what she knew during the presidential transition about Russia sanctions after former national security adviser Michael Flynn's guilty plea in the Russia investigation contradicted her account, according to a person familiar with the matter.

McFarland, who served as Flynn's deputy on the National Security Council, was first interviewed by the FBI without a lawyer at her Hamptons home in summer 2017, the person said. She said at that time she didn't have a precise memory of whether Flynn had spoken to the then-Russian ambassador or what they may have discussed.

But shortly after Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to investigators about his conversation with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak about sanctions, McFarland spoke to the special counsel's office. She had reviewed her notes and documents by then and walked back what she previously said — this time saying that she could infer from a general conversation with Flynn that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak.

The Post reported that McFarland and her lawyer were able to sway the FBI that it was not her intent to mislead the agency.

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