The White House is currently insisting that President Donald Trump did not know in January that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russia, a felony for which he has pleaded guilty. But the administration’s own public statements, taken together, give the lie to that claim.

The kerfuffle began with a Trump tweet Saturday morning, in which the president said he “had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI.”

I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017



Trump lawyer John Dowd quickly claimed he had written the tweet, acknowledging it was sloppily worded. Dowd said that White House counsel had informed Trump that Flynn had given the FBI the same account of his Russia ties he had previously given Vice President Mike Pence—but hastened to add that it was inaccurate to say that Trump was told Flynn had lied.

Then, on Tuesday, Sarah Sanders tried to make the same point:

“Look, the president knew that he lied to the vice president,” she told reporters. “That was the reason for his firing.”

So President Trump knew that Flynn had lied to Pence. He knew that Flynn had given the same account to the FBI. But Dowd would have the American people not reach the obvious conclusion: that Trump knew Flynn had lied to the FBI.

But of course, the White House can’t admit this obvious fact aloud. After all, that would mean Trump had knowingly employed an adviser guilty of felony obstruction for weeks—and surely the president would never do a thing like that.