There are moles in these government agencies and regardless of what went on with the NSA chief, Trump has to clean house or his entire cabinet will be wiped out.
President Trump said Tuesday that the “real story here” is “illegal leaks” coming out of Washington, a day after former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned from the administration.
“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?” the president tweeted.
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Flynn basically met his fate and had to resign for lying to VP Mike Pence twice. Once over the Russian phone call and at another time last year over Flynn’s son receiving security clearance.
National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn “misled” Vice President Michael Pence and other White House officials about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey I. Kislyak, according to the retired general.
Flynn said he gave “incomplete information” about the call, blaming it on a faulty memory.
Yesterday, word leaked to the media that the now-fired Sally Yates warned the White House in January.
In his resignation letter, which the White House emailed to reporters, Flynn said he had held numerous calls with foreign officials during the transition. “Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador,” he wrote. “I have sincerely apologized to the president and the vice president, and they have accepted my apology.”
Retired Army Lieutenant General Joseph K. Kellogg Jr., a Vietnam War veteran, is acting national security adviser.
Sean Spicer told the press earlier on Monday that “the president is evaluating the situation.” Kellyanne Conway told MSNBC that same day Trump had “full confidence in the retired general”.
Anonymous sources said Pence told others in the White house that he believed Flynn lied to him when he said sanctions had not been discussed with the Russian ambassador at the end of December.
Flynn’s attempt to cover his tracks could make him open to blackmail, some feared. The FBI is investigating.
In addition, the Army has been investigating whether Flynn received money from the Russian government during a trip he took to Moscow in 2015, according to two defense officials.
Such a payment might violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits former military officers from receiving money from a foreign government without consent from Congress. The Democrats in the House will keep the investigation going.
The White House had examined a transcript of a wiretapped conversation that Flynn had with Kislyak in December, according to administration officials. Flynn originally told Pence and others that the call was limited to small talk and holiday pleasantries.
But the conversation, according to anonymous officials who saw the transcript of the wiretap, also included a discussion about sanctions imposed on Russia after intelligence agencies claimed Putin’s government tried to interfere with the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf. Classified information was not discussed. He did, however, give the Russian ambassador the impression that relieving the sanctions were possible, according to leaks.
Maybe they mean like this?
Current and former administration officials familiar with the call said the transcript was ambiguous enough that Trump could have justified either firing or retaining Flynn.
Trump, however, had become increasingly concerned about the continued fallout over Flynn’s behavior, according to people familiar with his thinking, and told aides that the media storm around Flynn would damage the president’s image on national security issues.
Retired Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward and David H. Petraeus are leading candidates for Flynn’s position.
K.T. McFarland, Flynn’s deputy, still remains on Trump’s team, the campaign adviser said, adding that the temporary move of Kellogg should not be read as him remaining in that post.
There were reports of questions about Flynn’s management and a demoralized staff according to the MSM. Were intelligence agencies getting even?
Losing Flynn is significant. He was behind Trump for over a year and he has been defining policy.
There was an episode late last year the complicated Flynn’s relationship with the Vice President when Pence went on television to deny that Flynn’s son, who had posted conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton on social media, had been given a security clearance by the transition team. The younger Flynn had been given such a clearance, even though his father had told Pence’s team that he hadn’t.
Anonymous sources close to Trump, according to MSNBC, say Pence was behind Flynn’s resignation because he lied to him.
