Trump White House Ignored Flynn Blackmail Warnings

The Takeaway | May 9, 2017

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General Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security advisor, was vulnerable to foreign blackmail, according to Sally Yates, former acting attorney general.

Yates, along with James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, answered hours of questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee aimed at understanding links between Flynn, Trump, and alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Yates testified that she repeatedly raised concerns about Flynn to the White House.

As expected, many pertinent facts could not be revealed because of the risk of exposing classified information. But Yates did tell the Trump Administration that Flynn's conduct had been problematic, but the White House kept him on the job as national security advisor for more than 18 days. The situation is further complicated by news yesterday that former President Barack Obama also warned then President-elect Trump not to hire Flynn.

Where does this messy web of information leave us now? Todd Zwillich, Takeaway Washington correspondent, helps us sort it out.

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