Trump national security aide Flynn resigns over Russian contacts

WASHINGTON - Reuters

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned late on Feb. 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.

Flynn’s resignation came hours after it was reported that the Justice Department had warned the White House weeks ago that Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail for contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump took power on Jan. 20. 

Flynn’s departure was a sobering development in Trump’s young presidency, a 24-day period during which his White House has been repeatedly distracted by miscues and internal dramas. 

The departure could slow Trump’s bid to warm up relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Flynn submitted his resignation hours after Trump, through a spokesman, pointedly declined to publicly back Flynn, saying he was reviewing the situation and talking to Pence. 

Flynn had promised Pence he had not discussed U.S. sanctions with the Russians, but transcripts of intercepted communications, described by U.S. officials, showed that the subject had come up in conversations between him and the Russian ambassador. 

Such contacts could potentially be in violation of a law banning private citizens from engaging in foreign policy, known as the Logan Act. 

Pence had defended Flynn in television interviews and was described by administration officials as upset about being misled. 

“Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the president and the vice president, and they have accepted my apology,” Flynn said in his resignation letter. 

Retired General Keith Kellogg, who has been chief of staff of the White House National Security Council, was named the acting national security adviser while Trump determines who should fill the position. 

What comes next for Turkey-US relations? 

Flynn’s unexpected resignation may cause hurdles in Turkey-U.S. relations as Turkey had expressed hope of improving relations with the long-time NATO ally under the Trump administration after experiencing strained relations with former U.S. President Barack Obama.

On the day of Trump’s election as the new president of the U.S., Flynn penned an article for the Hill newspaper that the U.S. should not provide a safe haven for U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, whom the Turkish government accuses of orchestrating the failed coup attempt of July 2016.

“The forces of radical Islam derive their ideology from radical clerics like Gülen, who is running a scam. We should not provide him safe haven,” Flynn wrote on Nov. 8, 2016.

While he was in Washington to attend the inauguration of Trump, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with then-incoming U.S. National Security Advisor, Flynn, and other officials on Jan. 18.
 
During a speech to Turkish ambassadors on Jan. 9, in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan admitted the existence of strains in ties between Turkey and the U.S., while calling on Trump to help improve relations.

Kellogg, retired General David Petraeus, a former CIA director, and Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, are under consideration for the position, a White House official said.

 Harward was described by officials as the leading candidate. 

A U.S. official confirmed a Washington Post report that Sally Yates, the then-acting U.S. attorney general, told the White House late last month that she believed Flynn had misled them about the nature of his communications with the Russian ambassador. 

She said Flynn might have put himself in a compromising position, possibly leaving himself vulnerable to blackmail, the official said. Yates was later fired for opposing Trump’s temporary entry ban for people from seven mostly Muslim nations. 

A U.S. official, describing the intercepted communications, said Flynn did not make any promises about lifting the sanctions. 

But he did indicate that sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama on Russia for its Ukraine incursion “would not necessarily carry over to an administration seeking to improve relations between the U.S. and Russia,” the official said. 

Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, was an early supporter of Trump and shares his interest in shaking up the establishment in Washington. He frequently raised eyebrows among Washington’s foreign policy establishment for trying to persuade Trump to warm up U.S. relations with Russia.

Flynn’s unexpected resignation may cause hurdles in Turkey-U.S. relations as Turkey had expressed hope of improving relations with the long-time NATO ally under the Trump administration after experiencing strained relations with former U.S. President Barack Obama.

On the day of Trump’s election as the new president of the U.S., Flynn penned an article for the Hill newspaper that the U.S. should not provide a safe haven for U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, whom the Turkish government accuses of orchestrating the failed coup attempt of July 2016.

“The forces of radical Islam derive their ideology from radical clerics like Gülen, who is running a scam. We should not provide him safe haven,” Flynn wrote on Nov. 8, 2016.

While he was in Washington to attend the inauguration of Trump, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with then-incoming U.S. National Security Advisor, Flynn, and other officials on Jan. 18. 

During a speech to Turkish ambassadors on Jan. 9, in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan admitted the existence of strains in ties between Turkey and the U.S., while calling on Trump to help improve relations.