Email appears to contradict K.T. McFarland's congressional testimony on Russia contacts

(Image credit: Chris Kleponis/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 5 December 2017

K.T. McFarland, President Trump's former deputy national security adviser and a member of his transition team, appeared to have misled the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on what she knew about communications between former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, according to an email exchange obtained by The New York Times.

McFarland left her post in May and is waiting to be confirmed by the Senate as ambassador to Singapore. She appeared in front of the committee in July, and after the hearing, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) asked her in writing if she ever spoke directly with Flynn about his contacts with Kislyak. McFarland responded by saying that she was "not aware of any of the issues or events as described above."

The Times obtained an email dated Dec. 29 regarding sanctions imposed against Russia by the Obama administration in response to Russian meddling in the election. McFarland told another member of the Trump transition team that Flynn would be speaking with Kislyak that evening. Flynn pleaded guilty last week to lying to the FBI about his discussions with Kislyak about the sanctions. Booker told the Times the email suggests McFarland gave false testimony. "If this is the case, this is an alarming development, and another example of a pattern of deception on the part of Trump's closest associates regarding their connections and communications to Russian government officials," he added.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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