Flynn’s contacts with Russia: Democrats want inquiry into matter

“The resignation of Michael Flynn is welcome news but provides no answers as to the Trump Administration’s apparent ties to Russian Federation”. We must, and I believe will, learn the truth. White House officials said they conducted a thorough review of Flynn’s interactions, including transcripts of calls secretly recorded by USA intelligence officials, but found nothing illegal. He said the White House has yet to be forthcoming about whether Flynn was acting at the behest of the president or others.

Flynn had formally resigned from his post Monday.

The first gripe came three minutes into President Donald Trump’s first solo news conference on Thursday, when he accused reporters of ignoring a poll showing him with a 55 percent approval rating – a figure at odds with most other surveys.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference Thursday in the East Room of the White House.

The controversy over the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia escalated last month when BuzzFeed published a dossier of reports compiled by a former British intelligence official alleging that the Russian government had amassed damaging material about Trump and was planning to blackmail him if he won. His 2012 to 2014 tenure at the Defense Intelligence Agency, which functions as the main foreign USA military espionage organization, was troubled, and he butted heads with the Obama administration before being forced out.

The president announced that Alexander Acosta, the dean of the Florida International University law school, would be his nominee for Labor secretary.

Similarly, on a proposed investigation of the events leading to Flynn’s resignation, Democrats are again overwhelmingly supportive (86 percent in favor and 13 percent opposed), while Republicans are more narrowly divided (48 percent in favor and 50 percent opposed). “You know the word “tone?'”, he asked sarcastically”.

Trump, a reality television star and real estate mogul who was elected as an outsider intent on change, opened the hastily arranged news conference to bash coverage by the news media.

White House officials sent conflicting signals about how much the revelation had damaged Flynn.

Democrats, doubting that either Trump’s Justice Department or the Republican-led Congress will pursue the matter vigorously, demanded an independent investigation of possible illegal communications between Flynn and the Russian government and any efforts by Flynn or other White House officials to hide wrongdoing.

Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg is serving as acting national security adviser but is not expected to keep the job long term.

The Washington Post reported earlier the warning and that Yates was concerned Flynn was potentially vulnerable to being blackmailed by Russian Federation, an account that the official confirmed. The president is said to spend most of his mornings and evenings watching cable news, often responding to what he sees and hears in real time, on Twitter. But, one of the two questions needed to be about Flynn and the broader Russian Federation questions circling the Trump administration.

Pence himself did not learn the truth until February 9, two weeks after other White House officials, according to the Washington Post.

However, there also is reason to think Trump’s efforts to undermine the news media may be working.

Amid a deepening crisis over the relationship between President Donald Trump’s aides and Russian Federation, some senior Republicans on Wednesday issued their boldest challenge yet and vowed to get to the bottom of the matter, while Democrats demanded an independent probe.

Along with Kellogg, the White House is considering retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward and former Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus as permanent replacements for Flynn. Apart from Petraeus, Vice Admiral Bob Harward and Kellogg are also being considered for the post, reported CNBC.

“Absolutely not; no, no, no”, Spicer said. According to one person with knowledge of the matter, those incidents included Flynn seeking a security clearance for his son during the transition.

A US official told The Associated Press that Flynn was in frequent contact with Kislyak on the day the Obama administration slapped sanctions on Russian Federation for election-related hacking, as well as at other times during the transition.

When FBI interviewers asked Flynn about his phone call, he had initially told them that sanctions were not discussed.

In an interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation last month, Flynn had denied speaking to the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, about USA sanctions against Russia.

“It wasn’t about sanctions”. Who would take the job? “It was basically: ‘Look, I know this happened”. He displayed a rare moment of introspection when he discussed his love for kids amid his “very, very hard” decision whether to potentially deport young immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children.