The White House Is Already In Flames

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, meanwhile, said the Flynn debacle demands further investigation by the FBI and released a statement Tuesday, saying the episode reflects the Trump’s “poor judgment” as president. And the president, who sold himself to voters as a straight-talker, needs to avoid the suspicion that he is trying to sweep the Russian questions under the Oval Office carpet.

Mr Trump called the reports a “ruse” and said he had “nothing to do with Russia”, adding “Russia is fake news”.

Asked if Moscow still hopes that relations with the USA are going to improve, he said it is “too early to say” since “Trump’s team has not been shaped yet”.

Spicer said that the trust of the USA president in his advisor had “eroded”, and asked for his resignation.

Lt. Gen. Flynn’s resignation came three days after congressional Democrats called for an investigation into conversations between Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Mr. Trump’s inauguration, during which the two allegedly discussed USA sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama administration – a serious breach of diplomatic protocol.

At Thursday’s news conference – during which Trump took frequent detours to provide commentary on his relations with his press, his own popularity, the quality of the questions being asked and his election victory – Trump provided new detail of Flynn’s ouster from the administration, stating clearly for the first time that Flynn had been fired for failing to fully brief Vice-president Mike Pence on his conversations with Kislyak.

He served as the director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, and has advised Mr Trump on national security issues for months.

Mr Trump, who was informed the same day, had concluded that his actions did not violate any law, according to Mr Spicer.

Flynn had maintained to the White House that sanctions were not discussed.

On Capitol Hill, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Wednesday introduced companion legislation to a Senate measure aiming to enhance congressional oversight of Russian sanctions. A senior Trump administration official also said that they were aware of the matter and that they were “working on this for weeks”. Mr Flynn was a loyal Mr Trump supporter during the campaign, but he is viewed skeptically by some in the administration’s national security circles, in part because of his ties to Russian Federation.

Flynn had spoken with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak about the potential for a rollback of President Barack Obama’s 11th-hour sanctions on Russia, later telling Pence that he hadn’t.

Texas Senator John Cornyn, the second-ranked Senate Republican leader, echoed calls for an investigation into Mr Flynn’s ties to Russian Federation.

Flynn has since reportedly apologized to Pence and other White House officials. That same day, the Obama White House sanctioned Russia’s intelligence agencies for their roles in allegedly hacking the USA presidential election. “It’s nothing to do with us”.

However Republicans have backed calls for further investigation into the connections, with Republican Senator Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday called for an exhaustive investigation into connections between President Donald Trump and Russian Federation.

Senate Democrats have called for a “full classified briefing by all relevant agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as soon as possible and certainly before Thursday, February 16”.