We’ve known for a while that the White House ignored Sally Yates’s warning about Michael Flynn. Now we come to find out that it also ignored an earlier warning from President Barack Obama himself.
And the White House’s explanation for it is oh-so-Trump: It viewed the warning as sour grapes from a loser. Continue reading “Sean Spicer’s admission: Trump dismissed Obama’s warning about Michael Flynn as sour grapes”
The following article by Philip Rucker and Karen DeYoung was posted on the Washington Post website May 10, 2017:
A day after firing the FBI director who had been overseeing the sweeping probe into his campaign’s ties to Russia, President Trump has just one event on his public schedule: an Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The sit-down between Trump and Lavrov, the first face-to-face contact the president has had with a senior official of the Russian government, will take place Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in the White House. It will be closed to the press, according to the White House schedule. Continue reading “Trump to sit down with Russian foreign minister, one day after firing Comey”
The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website May 9, 2017:
“General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration — but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that.”
— President Trump, in a tweet, May 8, 2017
“If President Obama was truly concerned about General Flynn, why didn’t he suspend General Flynn’s security clearance, which they had just reapproved months earlier. Additionally, why did the Obama administration let Flynn go to Russia for a paid speaking engagement and receive a fee?”
— White House spokesman Sean Spicer, at a news briefing, May 8
The Trump White House has tried to point the finger at the Obama administration for its travails with retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, whom the president fired as national security adviser just three weeks after taking the oath of office. Flynn was fired after The Washington Post reportedthat he had misled other administration officials, including Vice President Pence, about whether he had discussed pending sanctions with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition. Continue reading “Fact Checker: Trump’s pointing of the finger at Obama for failing to vet Flynn”
The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website May 8, 2017:
On Monday, we learned much more about the moment that brought down Michael Flynn, the national security adviser whom President Trump fired less than a month into the job for misleading Vice President Pence about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
But we were also left with questions about why the White House waited 18 days after finding out Flynn misled them to fire him. Continue reading “5 things we learned from Sally Yates’s testimony on what the White House knew about Michael Flynn”
The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website May 8, 2017:
Sally Yates’ testimony in the Senate today and Putin’s unsuccessful attempts to influence the French election over the weekend are again displacing taxes and health care in the headlines. Instead, morning shows and newspapers lead with teasers about Yates’ testimony and further stories about the Trump administration’s weak vetting of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
While Democrats in Congress, along with Lindsey Graham and John McCain, are rightly concerned about the details of Russian meddling, many Americans outside the DC bubble are less concerned. Here are 5 reasons Americans should be more worried about Donald Trump and Russia: Continue reading “Russia and the Heartland”
The following article by Lauren Carrol was posted on the Politifact website April 4, 2017:
The Internet has the power to advance democratic ideals by making knowledge more accessible and helping voters make more informed choices.
But the picture painted by witnesses at a March 30 bipartisan Senate hearing — a group that included academics, former intelligence officers, and cyber-security consultants — shows how the Internet also makes those ideals vulnerable.
All six witnesses agreed that Russia was behind a misinformation and propaganda campaign intended to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Continue reading “Four things to know about Russia’s 2016 misinformation campaign”
