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A6 Tuesday, February 14, 2017 | Ocala Star-Banner | www.ocala.com
The Justice Depart-
ment warned the Trump
administration weeks
ago that contradic-
tions between the public
depictions and the actual
details of the calls could
leave Flynn in a com-
promised position, an
administration official
and two other people with
knowledge of the situa-
tion told The Associated
Press Monday night.
One person with
knowledgeofthesituation
said the Justice Depart-
ment alerted the White
House that there was a
discrepancy between
what officials were
saying publicly about the
contacts and the facts of
what had occurred. Pence
— apparently relying on
information from Flynn
— initially said sanctions
were not discussed in the
calls, though Flynn has
now told White House
officials that the topic
may have come up.
A second official said
the Justice Department
was concerned Flynn
could be in a compro-
mised position as a result.
The White House has
been aware of the Justice
Department warnings for
“weeks,” an administra-
tion official said, though
it was unclear whether
Trump and Pence had
been alerted.
The people insisted
on anonymity because
they were not authorized
to discuss the matter
publicly. The Washing-
ton Post was the first
to report the commu-
nication between the
Justice Department,
including former acting
attorney general Sally
Yates, and the Trump
administration.
Flynn apologized to
Pence last week, follow-
ing a Washington Post
report asserting that the
national security adviser
has indeed discussed
sanctions with the Rus-
sian envoy.
White House spokes-
man Sean Spicer said
Trump was consulting
with Pence on Monday
about his conversations
with the national security
adviser. Asked whether
the president had been
aware that Flynn might
discuss sanctions with
the Russian envoy, Spicer
said,“No,absolutelynot.”
Trump, who comments
on a steady stream of
issues on his Twitter feed,
has been conspicuously
silent about the matter
since The Washington
Post reported last week
that Flynn had discussed
sanctions with the Rus-
sian envoy. A U.S. official
told The Associated Press
thatFlynnwasinfrequent
contact with Ambassador
Sergey Kislyak on the day
the Obama administra-
tion slapped sanctions
on Russia for election-
related hacking, as well
as at other times during
the transition.
Flynn’s discussions
with the Russian raised
questions about whether
Flynn offered assur-
ances about the incoming
administration’s new
approach. Such conver-
sations would breach
diplomatic protocol
and possibly violate the
Logan Act, a law aimed
at keeping citizens from
conducting diplomacy.
Earlier Monday, White
House counselor Kelly-
anne Conway said Trump
had “full confidence” in
Flynn, though her asser-
tions were not backed up
by other senior Trump
aides. Spicer would say
only that Flynn was con-
tinuing to carry out “his
daily functions.”
Flynn was spotted near
the Oval Office just after
10 p.m. Monday. Amid
the uncertainty over Fly-
nn’s future, several of the
president’s top advisers,
including chief of staff
Reince Priebus and coun-
sel Don McGahn, ducked
in and out of late-night
meetings in the West
Wing.
FLYNN
Continued from A1