Michael Flynn resigns as National Security Advisor

imasinger

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 6:57 am

That was short.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/a......html

Quote:

Embattled White House national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned Monday night, an abrupt end to a brief tenure.

His departure came just after reports surfaced that the Justice Department warned the Trump administration last month that Flynn misled administration officials regarding his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians.

"I inadvertently briefed the Vice President-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology," Flynn wrote, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by CNN.

"I am tendering my resignation, honored to have served our nation and the American people in such a distinguished way," he wrote. "I know with the strong leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and the superb team they are assembling, this team will go down in history as one of the greatest presidencies in US history."

The move comes less than a month into the job, making him one of the shortest-serving senior presidential advisers in modern history.

Gen. Keith Kellogg will be the interim national security adviser, multiple sources tell CNN. He most recently served as National Security Council chief of staff.

A senior administration official said Kellogg, retired Gen. David Petraeus and former Vice Admiral Bob Harward are possible replacements for Flynn.

Petraeus is going to the White House Tuesday, according to sources inside and close to the administration.

"He is making a run" for the job, one source said, but noted "he has a lot of baggage."

Pressure building

The sudden exit marks the most public display yet of disarray at the highest levels of the new administration, which has faced repeated questions over a slew of controversies and reports of infighting among senior aides during its first three weeks.

The resolution had been heading this way for three days, an administration source told CNN.

More than whether he really had a conversation with the Russians about sanctions, the key issue internally was whether he told the truth to Pence, the source said.

How to get fired by the president of the United States

The White House concluded at the very least, Flynn didn't mean to mislead the vice president, but may have because he couldn't remember what he said to the Russians.

"Not remembering is not a quality we can have for the national security adviser," the source said.

An administration source said that Trump "hung in there" when it came to Flynn, but there was a "flood of information" that finally made it clear he had to resign.

Asked if Trump is disappointed, another administration official said: "He's moving on."

'Full classified briefing'

A pair of Democratic lawmakers -- Reps. John Conyers, Jr., top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and Elijah Cummings, top Democrat on the House oversight Committee -- sent a request for a "full classified briefing" on the circumstances surrounding Flynn to the Justice Department and FBI Monday night following Flynn's resignation.

"We in Congress need to know who authorized his actions, permitted them and continued to let him have access to our most sensitive national security information despite knowing these risks. We need to know who else within the White House is a current and ongoing risk to our national security," they wrote in a statement.

They added: "This new disclosure warrants a full classified briefing by all relevant agencies, including the Department of Justice and the FBI, as soon as possible and certainly before Thursday, February 16. We are communicating this request to the Department of Justice and FBI this evening."

Aftermath

The shakeup now leaves Trump without one of his closest and longest-serving advisers. Flynn had counseled Trump on foreign policy and national security matters since early in the 2016 presidential race.

Flynn was not able to definitively refute a Washington Post story late last week that his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak included communication about the sanctions. It is illegal for unauthorized private citizens to negotiate with foreign governments on behalf of the US.

The controversy intensified after the report put Vice President Mike Pence and several senior White House advisers in an uncomfortable position, as they had denied in TV interviews weeks earlier that Flynn discussed sanctions with the ambassador. Some administration officials said Flynn must have misled Pence and others.

"The knives are out," a White House official told CNN on Friday, noting that "there's a lot of unhappiness about this."

Concerns

Many expressed concern at the idea that Flynn, a retired lieutenant general who headed the Defense Intelligence Agency, would discuss sanctions with a foreign official whose calls are regularly monitored by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

A US official confirmed to CNN on Friday that Flynn and Kislyak did speak about sanctions, among other matters, during a December call.

But after the call was made public, Pence told CBS News on January 15 that Flynn did not talk with Kislyak about the sanctions, which the Obama administration recently levied due to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 elections.

"They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States' decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia," Pence told CBS News.

On Friday, an aide close to the national security adviser told CNN that Flynn could not rule out that he spoke about sanctions on the call.

The White House official blamed much of the outcry against Flynn on a Washington culture always in search of a scalp, but people within Trump's orbit did little to defend Flynn during appearances on Sunday news shows.

Stephen Miller, White House policy director, was asked directly about Flynn's future on a number of Sunday talk shows. Miller responded by saying he was not the appropriate official to ask.

"I don't have any answers today," Miller said in response to questions about whether Flynn misled the vice president. "I don't have any information one way or another to add anything to the conversation.

WhatFor

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 10:56 am

Yeah. I wonder if that will be all on the issue or if it will press further.

SixOfWands

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 11:03 am

Out of curiosity .... all of you who opposed Clinton because of her use of an unsecured email server, how do you feel about Trump considering Petraeus, who pled guilty to knowingly giving his mistress classified materials, and to then lying to the FBI about it.

WhatFor

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 11:36 am

SixOfWands wrote:

What about using his phone flashlight to look at classified documents in a public venue? While onlookers took pictures and posted to Facebook.

SixOfWands

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 11:50 am

WhatFor wrote:

What about using his phone flashlight to look at classified documents in a public venue? While onlookers took pictures and posted to Facebook.

Or this:

WTH is wrong with the Secret Service????

WhatFor

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 11:52 am

SixOfWands wrote:

Or this:

WTH is wrong with the Secret Service????

Not justifying what he did, but to be fair, he probably had no clue that dude was going to post this on Facebook. Journalists do photograph people carrying the "football" but I guess it's another thing entirely to pose with it.

treestump

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 11:52 am

WhatFor wrote:

What about using his phone flashlight to look at classified documents in a public venue? While onlookers took pictures and posted to Facebook.

Hmm... he'll fit right in with the president who refuses to use a secured phone and uses his unsecured Android phone against the advice of WH cybersecurity.

Fox

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 12:01 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

I can't speak for anyone else, but I was far less disturbed that Clinton used an unsecured server than the fact that the State Department last upgraded their computer systems under Colin Powell. Who cares about Hillary's yoga schedule when State Department staff have to email docs to their Gmail accounts in order to print them.

Using public spaces at Mar-a-Lago is stupid and ridiculous, and Trump needs to stop it. Criticism is entirely justified.

WhatFor

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 2:12 pm

treestump wrote:

Hmm... he'll fit right in with the president who refuses to use a secured phone and uses his unsecured Android phone against the advice of WH cybersecurity.

Per his Twitter today:

Quote:

The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N.Korea etc?

So the issue is not what Flynn did but that the American public found out? And PS- if you're concerned about leaks, step up your security, for the love of God.

SixOfWands

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 2:18 pm

WhatFor wrote:

So the issue is not what Flynn did but that the American public found out? And PS- if you're concerned about leaks, step up your security, for the love of God.

The White House concedes that it knew about Flynn's actions for weeks, but believes (possibly incorrectly) that they weren't illegal.

So for them, the issue really was the leaks. They didn't have a substantial problem with Flynn's actions. Including lying to Pence.

SixOfWands

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 2:35 pm

Fox wrote:

Democrat or Republican, no one wants to spend money for infrastructure.

Laiya

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 4:57 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Democrat or Republican, no one wants to spend money for infrastructure.

Except Cuomo Very Happy

SixOfWands

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 5:10 pm

Laiya wrote:

Except Cuomo Very Happy

Just please let him keep his hands off JFK until La Guardia is finished. Not that its not needed, mind you.

youngishbear

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 5:29 pm

Fox wrote:

Score one for rationality, Fox!

But... (Give me a finger and I want a hand) I can't help but wonder whether you view this "stupid and ridiculous" action as an anomaly or part of a pattern?

PAMOM

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 5:55 pm

This seems like an extremely amateurish spy novel. That scares the hell out of me.

MagentaYenta

Tue, Feb 14 2017, 6:04 pm

WhatFor wrote:

So the issue is not what Flynn did but that the American public found out? And PS- if you're concerned about leaks, step up your security, for the love of God.

The head of the Secret Service is retiring this week or next week, any way, he gets to appoint a new one. Hopefully he'll give up the unsecured phones he and his staff have been using.

DrMom

Wed, Feb 15 2017, 2:10 am

An interesting article suggesting Flynn was targeted by Obama loyalists because he would threaten the Iran deal:

http://freebeacon.com/national.....lynn/

PinkFridge

Wed, Feb 15 2017, 8:57 am

DrMom wrote:

An interesting article suggesting Flynn was targeted by Obama loyalists because he would threaten the Iran deal:

http://freebeacon.com/national.....lynn/

I've been hearing these theories. Maybe this article is thoughtful and informative but the people I'm hearing it from are sounding desperate. One justification: So he has a half hour conversation - and remember he's been up for 20 hours - and he spends 30 seconds talking about sanctions. (This from Hannity.) I'll see you one innocent shmoozing about the eineklach on the tarmac....

SixOfWands

Wed, Feb 15 2017, 10:24 am

DrMom wrote:

An interesting article suggesting Flynn was targeted by Obama loyalists because he would threaten the Iran deal:

http://freebeacon.com/national.....lynn/

So Flynn was caught talking to Russian intelligence prior to the inauguration (and, in fact, according to published reports, Flynn and other Trump aids were in "constant contact" with Russian intelligence -- you know, the same folks who it is believed hacked the DNC and attempted to influence the results of the election -- during the campaign). And was caught discussing the sanctions that were imposed on the Russians that very day by the Obama administration. AIUI, there's a tape -- not because Flynn's calls were being intercepted, but because the Russian's were. And then lied about it, not only to the American people, but also to the Vice President, making Pence look foolish.

But its all Obama's fault.

I mean, let's forget that he did it. And that he lied. And that his actions may have been illegal. Besides making Pence look like a fool.

The real problem is that he was caught. And let's blame Obama for that. Because everything is Obama's fault.

33055

Wed, Feb 15 2017, 10:48 am

SixOfWands wrote:

The real problem is that the government is being undermined from within. Whichever side you are on, this is bigger than any one advisor.