President Trump did not direct his former national security adviser, Gen. Mike Flynn, to discuss possible sanctions relief with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. prior to the inauguration, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday.
“No, absolutely not. No, no, no,” Spicer said when asked whether Trump instructed Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador.
After his phone call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December, Flynn told the vice president and other senior officials that the issue of sanctions had not come up during the conversation. Vice President Pence later repeated Flynn’s denial as fact in a televised interview.
Spicer said Trump asked Flynn for his resignation on Monday evening after weeks of review, deciding ultimately that his trust in Flynn had “eroded” to the point where his continued employment in the administration was “unsustainable.”
The White House press secretary said the president had not taken issue with the fact that Flynn discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador, but rather that he had misrepresented his discussions to senior members of the administration.
