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Associated Press

US President Donald Trump’s embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn has resigned, following reports that he had misled Vice-President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia.
His departure late Monday night upends Trump’s senior team after less than one month in office.


In a resignation letter, Flynn said he held numerous calls with the Russian ambassador to the US during the transition and gave “incomplete information” about those discussions to Vice-President Mike Pence.
Pence, apparently relying on information from Flynn, initially said the national security adviser had not discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy, though Flynn later conceded the issue may have come up.

Here is NSA Mike Flynn's full resignation letter: pic.twitter.com/RuzlPaqe8h
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) February 14, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>


Trump named retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg as the acting national security adviser. Kellogg had previously been appointed the National Security Council chief of staff and advised Trump on national security issues during the campaign.
Bizarre scene of Trump’s first security scare, by cellphone light
The Justice Department warned the Trump administration weeks ago that contradictions between the public depictions and the actual details of the calls could leave Flynn in a compromised position, an administration official and two other people with knowledge of the situation said Monday night.




One person with knowledge of the situation said the Justice Department alerted the White House that there was a discrepancy between what officials were saying publicly about the contacts and the facts of what had occurred. A second official said the Justice Department was concerned Flynn could be compromised; CNN reported that the assessment was that Flynn could be “blackmailed”.
The White House has been aware of the Justice Department warnings for “weeks”, an administration official said, though it was unclear whether Trump and Pence had been alerted.
The people insisted on anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. The Washington Post was the first to report the communication between the Justice Department, including former acting attorney general Sally Yates, and the Trump administration.
Flynn apologised to Pence last week, following a Washington Post report asserting that the national security adviser has indeed discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump was consulting with Pence on Monday about his conversations with the national security adviser. Asked whether the president had been aware that Flynn might discuss sanctions with the Russian envoy, Spicer said, “No, absolutely not.”
Trump, who comments on a steady stream of issues on his Twitter feed, has been conspicuously silent about the matter since The Washington Post reported last week that Flynn had discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy. A US official told The Associated Press that Flynn was in frequent contact with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on the day the Obama administration slapped sanctions on Russia for election-related hacking, as well as at other times during the transition.
Flynn’s discussions with the Russian raised questions about whether Flynn offered assurances about the incoming administration’s new approach. Such conversations would breach diplomatic protocol and possibly violate the Logan Act, a law aimed at keeping citizens from conducting diplomacy.
Earlier Monday, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway said Trump had “full confidence” in Flynn, though her assertions were not backed up by other senior Trump aides. Spicer would say only that Flynn was continuing to carry out “his daily functions.”
Flynn was spotted near the Oval Office just after 10pm Monday. Amid the uncertainty over Flynn’s future, several of the president’s top advisers, including chief of staff Reince Priebus and counsel Don McGahn, ducked in and out of late-night meetings in the West Wing.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said that if Pence were misled, “I can’t imagine he would have trust in General Flynn going forward.” She said it would also be “troubling” if Flynn had been negotiating with a foreign government before taking office.
Flynn’s conversations also raise questions about Trump’s friendly posture toward Russia after US intelligence agencies concluded that Moscow hacked Democratic emails during the election.
In 2015, Flynn was paid to attend a gala dinner for Russia Today, a Kremlin-backed television station, and sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the event.
The controversy comes as Trump and his top advisers seek to steady the White House after a rocky start. The president, who seeks input from a wide range of business associates, friends and colleagues, has been asking people their opinions on his senior team, including Spicer and Priebus.
.

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Donald Trump

Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn resigns over Russian contacts

US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who resigned on Monday evening amid reports that he misled Vice-President Mike Pence over his contacts with Russia. Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump (L-R), joined by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2014, file photo, then-Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Flynn resigned as President Donald Trump's national security adviser Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)

FILE PHOTO : Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (L) speaks along side retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn during a campaign town hall meeting in Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S., September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

epa05791892 (FILE) - A file picture dated 05 December 2016 shows retired United States Army lieutenant general Michael T. Flynn at Trump Tower in New York City, New York, USA. According to media reports on 14 February 2017, Flynn resigned from his position as National Security Advisor after facing increased scrutiny due to reports that the Justice Department contacted the White House in regards to Flynn's alleged pre-inauguration conversations with the Russian ambassador concerning sanctions. Retired United States Army General Keith Kellogg has been named acting National Security Advisor in the wake of Flynn's resignation. EPA/JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL

Trump should pick fights he can win – the law and China aren’t among them

A US wrestler role-playing as a fan of President Donald Trump holds a flag with Trump's face during an interview, before a wrestling match in Mexico City on Sunday. Trump’s presidency could go into free fall if he does not secure some victories in the coming year. Populist voters are fickle. Photo: Reuters

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates during the post-game ceremony for Super Bowl LI after the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Anthony Behar/Sipa USA/TNS)

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher greets curious Moscovites who gathered to see her on March 29, 1987 in Moscow, during her official visit in USSR.

In this Jan. 31, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump applauds as he stands with Judge Neil Gorsuch in East Room of the White House in Washington, after announcing Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court. Two weeks into his presidency, Donald Trump has thrown Washington into a state of anxious uncertainty. Policy pronouncements sprout up from the White House in rapid succession. Some have far-reaching implications, most notably Trump’s temporary refugee and immigration ban, but others disappear without explanation, including planned executive actions on cybersecurity and the president’s demand for an investigation into unsubstantiated voter fraud. The day’s agenda can quickly be overtaken by presidential tweets, which often start flashing on smartphones just as the nation’s capital is waking up. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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