Embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn resigns.
The US national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned late on Monday night amid a flow of intelligence leaks that he had secretly discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador to Washington and then tried to cover up the conversations.
The resignation, with the Trump era less than four weeks old, is the latest and most dramatic convulsion in the most chaotic start to an administration in modern US history.
It was far from clear whether Flynn’s departure would steady an inexperienced and feuding White House, or resolve the lingering suspicions about the Trump team’s pre-election contacts with the Kremlin.
The White House issued a statement just after 11pm in Washington announcing the resignation, shortly after reports broke that the Trump administration had been warned weeks ago that Flynn might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
The resignation comes after reports that Flynn had misled the vice president by saying he did not discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador to the United States. In his resignation letter to Trump, Flynn defended his conversations with the ambassador but said he had “inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information.”
Justice Dept. warned that Flynn could be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
The acting attorney general informed the Trump administration late last month of her concerns, current and former U.S. officials said. They also said that although they believed Pence was misled about Flynn’s communications with the ambassador, they couldn’t rule out that Flynn was acting with the knowledge of others in the transition.