Late December: Flynn, a former lieutenant general who had been selected as Trump's national security adviser, holds a phone call with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Despite Flynn's later denials, the two of them discuss sanctions and the possibility of relieving them once Trump is president — this despite the Obama administration preparing new sanctions for Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election.
Jan. 13: For the first time, Flynn's talks with the Russian ambassador are reported, though there are few details.
Jan. 14: Flynn assures Pence, who was then the vice president-elect, that the two of them didn't discuss sanctions, according to Pence.
Jan. 15: Pence tells “Fox News Sunday”: “I talked to General Flynn yesterday, and the conversations that took place at that time were not in any way related to the new U.S. sanctions against Russia or the expulsion of diplomats.”
Late January: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who would later be relieved of her duties by Trump because she declined to defend his travel ban, informs the White House counsel of Flynn's misleading statements and warns that they were so egregious that he could open himself up to Russian blackmail, given Russia knew he had mischaracterized the call to his superiors. The White House does not amend its false statements.
Feb. 8: In an interview with The Post that would be published the following day, Flynn categorically denies having discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador.
Feb. 9: The Post reports that Flynn did, in fact, discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador. In response, a spokesperson amends Flynn's previous denial, saying that he “indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.”
Feb. 10: Trump says in brief comments aboard Air Force One that he is unaware of the reports but that he will “look into” it.
Around 5 p.m. Monday: Conway says the White House has “full confidence” in Flynn and seemed to excuse him for having forgotten that he discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Monday: Spicer issues a statement. “The president is evaluating the situation,” it said. “He's speaking to the vice president relative to the conversation the vice president had with Gen. Flynn, and also speaking to various other people about what he considers the single most important subject there is: our national security.”
8 p.m. Monday: The Post reports that the Justice Department had told the White House last month “that Flynn had so mischaracterized his communications with the Russian diplomat that he might be vulnerable to blackmail by Moscow.”
Shortly before 11 p.m. Monday: Flynn resigns.
A few questions on this:
Was the administration planning to take any action based off the Justice Department's late-January news of Flynn having misled them?
Trump professes ignorance about Flynn having misled his administration as recently as Feb. 10. Did the White House counsel really not inform the president about what the Justice Department had told them? Or was it perhaps disregarded once Yates, an Obama appointee, was dismissed in a separate matter?
Does the White House truly accept Flynn's contention that he simply forgot about discussing sanctions? Conway's comments Monday suggest they do. But Russian sanctions were one of the biggest stories in U.S. foreign policy at the time.
Even if Flynn did truly forget, would it be okay that he discussed something he wasn't supposed to during the phone call?
