Donald Trump Had 'No Problem' With Michael Flynn Talking To The Russians

WASHINGTON The White House tried to put the best possible spin on the debacle surrounding Michael Flynn’s pre-inauguration conversations with the Russian government Tuesday, claiming that laws weren’t broken and that the dismissal was based on eroding “trust” between the president and his national security adviser. 

“It was not an issue of law, it was an issue of trust,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer repeatedly told reporters.

Flynn resigned Monday night after evidence piled up that he had discussed sanctions with Russian officials in late December, before President Donald Trump took office. Spicer said the president personally asked his national security adviser to step down contrary to what senior administration officials said Monday night  and Tuesday morning   insisting the president “took immediate, decisive action” and was “unbelievably decisive” in the matter.

But it wasn’t immediate. Spicer admitted Trump first learned about Flynn’s discussions weeks ago, in late January. The president and his staff, he added, discussed it daily from there but didn’t do anything to discipline Flynn until Monday. The reason it took the time it did, Spicer claimed, was because Flynn needed his “due process.”

Flynn’s talk with the Russian ambassador , Sergey Kislyak, came a day before President Barack Obama ’s administration announced sanctions on the Russian government after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that top officials interfered in the 2016 elections to help elect Trump. Flynn and other Trump administration officials have consistently denied that such a conversation ever took place. But transcripts  from a wiretap of his call proved that to be untrue. 

As to whether other administration officials have talked about sanctions relief with Russia, Spicer said that “as far as we are aware, that was an isolated incident.

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