Vice President Mike Pence wasn't told of the Justice Department's warning about now-former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn until Feb. 9, a full two weeks after White House officials were notified, an aide to Pence told The Washington Post Tuesday.
President Trump and the White House were warned weeks ago that Flynn's conversation with a Russian ambassador about U.S. sanctions could make him susceptible to blackmail, but it wasn't until Thursday — just days before Flynn's resignation late Monday — that Pence was filled in. "What I would tell you is that the vice president became aware of incomplete information that he had received on Feb. 9, last Thursday night, based on media accounts," Pence spokesman Marc Lotter said. "He did an inquiry based on those media accounts."
NBC News editor Bradd Jaffy noted that this was right around the time The Washington Post reported that Flynn had discussed the sanctions imposed on Russia. Flynn had previously denied to Pence and other officials that he'd spoken about the sanctions, only to later admit that he had. The decision to leave Pence in the dark about the Justice Department's warning is particularly notable because of the public role Pence played in the Flynn debacle, NBC News reporter Hallie Jackson pointed out. "Why was the vice president — who frankly was the sort of public face of this, right? going on television, defending Mike Flynn very publicly — why wasn't he informed 11 days prior when President Trump knew?" Jackson asked in a televised conversation Tuesday.
In his resignation letter, Flynn said he had inadvertently briefed Pence with "incomplete information" and has since apologized.
This post is on a developing story, and has been updated throughout.