The following article by Abby Phillip was posted on the Washington Post website February 14, 2017:
Trump was briefed by White House Counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions with the Russian ambassador “immediately” after McGahn was informed that Flynn had misled Pence, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday.
“We’ve been reviewing and evaluating this issue with respect to Gen. Flynn on a daily basis for a few weeks, trying to ascertain the truth,” Spicer said.
The comments contradict the impression given by Trump on Friday aboard Air Force One that he was not familiar with a Washington Post report that revealed that Flynn had not told the truth about the calls.
“I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen it. What report is that? I haven’t seen that. I’ll look into that,” Trump told the plane.
Spicer said that the president and a small group of senior aides were briefed in late January after the Justice Department informed McGahn about Flynn’s calls.
The White House Counsel’s office conducted a “review” of the legal issues and determined that “there was not a legal issue but rather a trust issue,” Spicer said. “The president was very concerned that Gen. Flynn had misled the vice president and others. The president must have complete and unwavering trust of the person in that position.”
Spicer said that “the evolving an eroding level of trust as a result of a series of other issues is what led the president to ask for Gen. Flynn’s resignation.”
The press secretary repeatedly said that Trump was not concerned with the nature of the conversations that Flynn had with the Russian ambassador but that the lack of trust created an “unsustainable” situation.
“The president has no problem with the fact that he acted in accord with what his job was supposed to be,” Spicer said.
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