Obama apparently warned Trump not to hire Michael Flynn
Former President Barack Obama explicitly warned President Trump against hiring ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, NBC News reported Monday. Three former Obama administration officials said that Obama offered the advice in an Oval Office meeting "less than 48 hours" after Trump won the presidency.
Trump went ahead and hired Flynn as his national security adviser anyway, only to fire him after three weeks for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The Obama administration had fired Flynn in 2014 as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency because of "mismanagement and temperament issues," NBC News reported.
The revelation about Obama's warning came as former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper are poised to testify Monday before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee about Flynn. Yates has said she also gave the Trump administration a warning about Flynn, in regards to his conversation about sanctions with Kislyak.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Earlier Monday, Trump tried to toss blame on the Obama administration for Flynn's missteps. Becca Stanek
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for October 26Cartoons Sunday’s editorial cartoons include Young Republicans group chat, Louvre robbery, and more
-
Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
-
Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June