White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday that President Trump asked for Gen. Michael Flynn’s resignation as national security advisor because of a breach of trust.
He repeatedly asserted that an internal White House investigation did not turn up evidence that Flynn’s contacts with Russian officials during the transition period broke federal law.
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“We’ve been reviewing and evaluating this issue with respect to Gen. Flynn on a daily basis for a few weeks, trying to ascertain the truth,” Spicer said. “We got to a point, not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue, where the level of trust between the president and Gen. Flynn had eroded to the point where he felt he had to make a change.”
“The president was very concerned that Gen. Flynn had misled the vice president and others,” he added.
Spicer explained that White House counsel Don McGahn conducted a review of Flynn’s contacts with the Kremlin during the transition after acting attorney general Sally Yates informed McGahn’s office on Jan. 26 that Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail. Spicer says the president was immediately informed of Yates’ finding and that he ordered the review. McGahn and his aides reviewed documents provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and conducted several extensive interviews with Flynn.
The investigation concluded that Flynn did not break the law.
Reporters dogged Spicer during the ensuing Q&A, as the timeline he presented raises new questions. 17 days elapsed between the 26th and Flynn’s resignation. It’s not clear why it would take the White House so long to determine that Flynn had breached his duty of trust to other senior administration officials. In addition, senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters late Monday afternoon that Flynn still enjoyed the president’s confidence. It’s not clear what caused the White House to reevaluate between Monday afternoon and Monday night, when Flynn resigned.
Gen. Flynn spoke exclusively to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Richard Pollock following his departure from the administration.
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