U.S. lawmakers, including some leading Republicans, called on Tuesday for a deeper inquiry into White House ties to Russia, after national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned in President Donald Trump’s biggest staff upheaval so far.
Flynn quit on Monday after only three weeks in the job amid revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Moscow’s ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, in a potentially illegal action, and had later misled Vice-President Mike Pence about the conversations.
Trump asked for the resignation after his level of trust in Flynn eroded to the point that he felt he needed to make a change, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.
“The erosion of that trust, frankly, was the issue,” he said.
Transcripts of intercepted communications, described by U.S. officials, showed that the issue of U.S. sanctions came up in conversations between Flynn and the ambassador in late December.
The conversations took place around the time that then-president Barack Obama was imposing sanctions on Russia after charging that Moscow had used cyberattacks to try to influence the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favor.
Flynn, a former U.S. intelligence official, quit hours after a report saying the Justice Department had warned the White House weeks ago that he could be vulnerable to blackmail over his conversations with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
It’s with a heavy heart that I’ve tendered my resignation to @POTUS. It’s been an honor & privilege to serve. Thank you all for your support pic.twitter.com/WtOfRhC9XE
Democrats, who do not have control of Congress, clamoured for more action over Flynn, and asked how much Trump knew about his connections to Russia.
“The American people deserve to know at whose direction General Flynn was acting when he made these calls, and why the White House waited until these reports were public to take action,” Democrat Mark Warner, the Senate intelligence committee’s vice chairman, said in a statement.
Two leading Republicans in the Senate, Bob Corker and John Cornyn, also said the intelligence committee should investigate Flynn’s contacts with Russia. Corker said Flynn may need to testify to a congressional hearing.
Michael Flynn resigned from his job as national security adviser on Monday night. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)
Republican Senator Roy Blunt, a member of the same committee, told a St. Louis radio station that the panel should interview Flynn “very soon” as part of its investigation into attempts by Russia to influence the U.S. election.
But the highest-ranking Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, sidestepped questions about whether lawmakers should look into Flynn’s Russia ties, adding he would leave it to the Trump administration to explain the circumstances behind Flynn’s departure.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons asked why Flynn was allowed to remain in his post for so long after the White House was warned of the potential for blackmail.
House Speaker Paul Ryan deferred to the White House to explain the circumstances around Flynn’s departure on Monday. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)
“This isn’t just about what happened with General Flynn,” Coons told MSNBC. “What did President Trump know? What did the president know and when did he know it?” Coons said, echoing a question made famous by the Watergate scandal, which forced President Richard Nixon to resign in 1974.
Flynn, an early and enthusiastic supporter of Trump, was a strong advocate of a softer line toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his departure from the key post could hinder Trump’s efforts to warm up relations with Moscow.
“General Flynn’s resignation also raises further questions about the Trump administration’s intentions toward Vladimir Putin’s Russia,” said Senator John McCain, a leading Republican voice on foreign relations.
