lightning2k3
Member
https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/865731628034912256
Just announced on CNN as well.
Article posted.
http://us.cnn.com/2017/05/19/politics/michael-flynn-donald-trump-russia-influence/index.html
Just announced on CNN as well.
Article posted.
http://us.cnn.com/2017/05/19/politics/michael-flynn-donald-trump-russia-influence/index.html
Russian officials bragged in conversations during the presidential campaign that they had cultivated a strong relationship with former Trump adviser retired Gen. Michael Flynn and believed they could use him to influence Donald Trump and his team, sources told CNN.
The conversations picked up by US intelligence officials indicated the Russians regarded Flynn as an ally, sources said. That relationship developed throughout 2016, months before Flynn was caught on an intercepted call in December speaking with Russia's ambassador in Washington, Sergey Kislyak. That call, and Flynn's changing story about it, ultimately led to his firing as Trump's first national security adviser.
One major concern for Obama administration officials was the subject of conversations between Flynn and Kislyak that took place shortly after Obama slapped new sanctions on Russia for meddling in the election. Sources tell CNN that Flynn told Kislyak that the Trump administration would look favorably on a decision by Russia to hold off on retaliating with its own sanctions. The next day, Putin said he wouldn't retaliate.
Sources say Flynn also told Kislyak that the incoming Trump administration would revisit US sanctions on Russia once in office. The US has applied sanctions on Russia since 2014 for its actions in Ukraine.