President Trump appears to be standing by his national security adviser Michael Flynn despite reports that the former lieutenant general gave inconsistent statements about a series of phone calls he had in December with Russia’s ambassador.
The Associated Press reports that a White House official says Trump has “full confidence” in Flynn following The Washington Post’s bombshell report that he discussed sanctions against Russia in a series of phone calls on Dec. 29 with Russia’s ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.
The phone calls occurred just after the Obama administration announced a new set of sanctions against Russia for its involvement in hacking during the election. (RELATED: Michael Flynn Discussed Sanctions With Russian Ambassador, Despite Denials)
Earlier on Friday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he was not aware of The Post report.
“I don’t know about it. I haven’t seen it. What report is that?” Trump said when asked by reporters about the report.
According to The Post, nine current and former U.S. government officials confirmed that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak. The information was based on reviews of transcripts from the Flynn-Kislyak conversation.
Flynn twice denied to The Post that he discussed sanctions with Kislyak. His office backed off of that claim on Thursday, issuing a statement that Flynn could not recall whether he discussed penalties with the Kremlin’s diplomat.
The scandal has also engulfed Vice President Mike Pence.
The former Indiana governor said in interviews last month, after Flynn’s calls were first reported, that Flynn did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak. Pundits initially questioned whether Pence was lying on Flynn’s behalf. But it was quickly pointed out that Pence’s belief about the phone calls was based on his conversations with Flynn.
That suggests that Flynn misled Pence.
The AP reports further that a second administration official said that Flynn and Pence spoke in person on Friday morning.
One remaining question is whether Trump knew that Flynn would be discussing sanctions with Kislyak before the phone calls.
The White House did not respond to The Daily Caller’s request for confirmation of the AP report.