On Monday, February 13, Michael T. Flynn resigned his position as national security advisor to President Donald Trump. He reasoned his leave to be due to the fact that he misled Vice President Mike Pence as well as other high ranking officials in the White House about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
“The question is not whether he did anything improper or illegal…It was not an issue of law; it was an issue of trust,” said White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Flynn was previously a United States Army Lieutenant General as well as the 18th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He was confirmed to be President Trump’s national security advisor when Trump took office but 24 days later, he resigned.
However, in late December, Flynn had a phone conversation with Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak. What caused controversy is not only what was discussed but who things were discussed with. Also, Flynn had denied speaking about confidential subjects with Ambassador Kislayak, leading Vice President Pence to stand by these declarations until recently.
Adding on to the controversy, according to the New York Times, “On Monday, a former administration official said the Justice Department warned the White House last month that Mr. Flynn had not been fully forthright about his conversations with the ambassador. As a result, the Justice Department feared that Mr. Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail by Moscow.”
The news of his resignation prompted a lot of concern— Trump’s link to Russia has been a matter of concern since the election and his association with Russia has paved the way for many questions to be raised.
In Flynn’s resignation letter he said, “I have sincerely apologized to the President and the vice president, and they have accepted my apology.”
Flynn will not suffer any charges as of now but investigations continue despite the Logan Act which states that no private citizen can negotiate with foreign governments.
The position now goes to Keith Kellogg, an Army Lieutenant General.
