Flynn resigns as Trump’s national security adviser; Petraeus among possible replacements

It was an issue of whether Flynn misled Pence and other officials about the nature of the call.

Mr Flynn resigned after misleading the president, and Vice-President Mike Pence, over whether he discussed sanctions with Russia’s ambassador in the weeks before Mr Trump took office – which would violate a law that prohibits private citizens from conducting diplomacy.

Former administration officials – both Republicans and Democrats – say they are stunned by the apparent dysfunction and friction in Mr. Trump’s inner circle. “It was about the 35 guys who were thrown out”, Flynn said. He told TheDCNF Obama officials “know Flynn and they hate Flynn because he would call them out”. Flynn didn’t officially become national security adviser until January 20 when Trump was sworn in. “We’ll review everything.’ I never said anything such as, ‘We’re going to review sanctions, ‘ or anything like that”. “He thought Flynn knew what he was doing”. “Russian Federation is a ruse”, the president said.

Revelations by The New York Times, citing anonymous current and former officials, that intelligence agencies uncovered ongoing dialogue between Trump’s advisers and associates with Russian spies the year before the November election adds to a curious chain of claimed connections between the US President and Moscow.

In his resignation letter, Flynn said: “In the course of my duties as the incoming National Security Advisor, I held numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts, ministers, and ambassadors”.

Flynn spoke to Ambassador Sergey I Kislyak on the very day that President Barack Obama imposed new sanctions on Russian Federation.

“This White House is not normal”, said Gordon Adams, a national-security expert at American University who served in the administration of former president Bill Clinton.

Flynn’s resignation within a month makes him one of the shortest serving adviser to president in USA history.

As of February 15, Trump had said little about Flynn’s resignation and the events leading up to it, but some of what he has said has not been accurate. Even Trump and Vice President Mike Pence reportedly expressed unease with the situation.

On Thursday, Trump told a news conference that Flynn was a “fine man” who had done nothing wrong in speaking to Kislyak. “Certainly during the time we’re talking about”.

“I haven’t been fighting back because I’m not that kind of guy”. But a former senior USA official said the firing was for insubordination, after Flynn failed to follow guidance from superiors. He was sacked after offering congressional testimony that was at odds with the Obama administration’s posture on the Islamic threat.

A Russian state broadcaster announced the resignation of Donald Trump’s national security adviser as his “retirement” in a tweet sent shortly after he quit.

David Petreaus is being considered to replace Flynn.

The Post also reported that Kislyak confirmed he’d communicated with Flynn before Trump’s inauguration, but did not say whether sanctions or other policy matters were discussed.

“President Trump has made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to de-escalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea”, Spicer said at a daily news briefing. “The news is fake”, Trump said.

“TRUMP KNEW EVERYTHING. It will all come out”.

More on the Flynn scandalHow are Republicans reacting?

Flynn seemed to take the departure in stride.

But Mr McFaul cautioned that people must remain “vigilant” as Mr Trump’s aims towards Russian Federation remain unclear as tensions over its backing for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, involvement in the Ukrainian war and disputes with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation continue.

Meanwhile, from the outside, the White House looks like “a snake pit”, with aides leaking information to the media to inflict damage on each other, said Peter Wehner, a former official in the administration of George W. Bush.

Yet Flynn spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago and was on the front row Monday when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to the White House.

“The leaks are real”, Trump said.