Chris Christie says Trump thought firing Flynn would end 'Russia thing'

In his new memoir, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie writes that President Trump and his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, both thought that by firing former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn shortly after the inauguration, it would end the "Russia thing," The New York Times reports.

Out on Tuesday, Let Me Finish focuses heavily on the time Christie spent as part of Trump's team, as well as the cast of characters surrounding Trump in the White House. Christie writes that on Valentine's Day 2017, the day after Flynn was fired for lying about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador during the transition, Trump told him, "This Russia thing is all over now, because I fired Flynn."

Flynn was "a train wreck from beginning to end," Christie wrote, and Trump and Kushner both sounded "naive" saying his firing would put the Russia matter to rest. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is still investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, and has indicted several former campaign officials, including Flynn and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

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In the book, Christie is also critical of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Trump's former chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, the Times reports. Christie believed that many people, including Bannon, were using Trump in order to promote themselves. Read more about the book, which includes details on Kushner and the often "problematic" advice he gave his father-in-law, at The New York Times.