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NSC head Flynn out in the cold over Russian calls

WASHINGTON — Speculation is swirling over the fate of American National Security Adviser Mike Flynn following allegations that he had made contact with Russian officials before President Donald Trump was inaugurated, just several weeks after he ascended the position.

American National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. Photo: AP

American National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. Photo: AP

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WASHINGTON — Speculation is swirling over the fate of American National Security Adviser Mike Flynn following allegations that he had made contact with Russian officials before President Donald Trump was inaugurated, just several weeks after he ascended the position.

A senior White House policy adviser, Mr Stephen Miller, declined on NBC Sunday to say whether the White House maintained confidence in Mr Flynn, a retired general, in the wake of questions over his phone calls with the Russians.

“That’s the question that I think you should ask the President, the question you should ask Reince (Priebus), the Chief of Staff,” Mr Miller said.

Mr Priebus is said to be leading a review on whether Mr Flynn should be retained.

An administration official said Mr Flynn has apologised to his White House colleagues over the episode, which has created a rift with Vice-President Mike Pence. The Vice- President had initially vouched for Mr Flynn after the latter assured that he did not contact the Russians.

It is not clear what Mr Trump thinks of the issue. In recent days, the President is said to have privately told people the controversy surrounding Mr Flynn is unwelcome, after he told reporters on Friday he would “look into” the disclosures.

But Mr Trump also has said he has confidence in Mr Flynn and wants to “keep moving forward”, a person familiar with his thinking said.

The Washington Post reported last week that Mr Flynn had discussed sanctions imposed by former president Barack Obama’s administration with the Russian ambassador, Mr Sergey Kislyak, before Mr Trump took office, contradicting past assertions by both Mr Flynn and Mr Pence.

If Mr Flynn had promised any easing of sanctions once Mr Trump took office, he may have violated a law that prohibits private citizens from engaging in foreign policy, said legal experts.

Mr Flynn initially said that in a conversation on Dec 29 with the Russian envoy, he did not discuss the sanctions, which were levied in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

But Mr Flynn’s spokesman has since said he “had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up”.

He also admits he spoke with the ambassador more than once on Dec 29, despite weeks of the Trump team insisting it was just one phone call, officials said.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who led Mr Trump’s transition planning before the election, said Mr Flynn would have to explain his conflicting statements about his conversations with Mr Kislyak to Mr Trump and Mr Pence.

“Gen Flynn has said up to this point that he had not said anything like that to the Russian ambassador. I think now he’s saying that he doesn’t remember whether he did or not,” Mr Christie said on CNN. “So, that’s a conversation he is going to need to have with the President and the Vice-President to clear that up, so that the White House can make sure that they are completely accurate about what went on.”

American intelligence services routinely intercept and monitor conversations with Russian diplomats, officials have said. The transcripts of the conversations do not show Mr Flynn made any sort of promise to lift the sanctions once Mr Trump took office, said officials said.

Rather, they show Mr Flynn making more general comments about relations between the two countries improving under Mr Trump, people familiar with them said.

Over the weekend, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted: “Gen Flynn should be suspended and have his intelligence clearance revoked.” AGENCIES

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