National security adviser Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador, despite denials, offici

[MBS]

Source: Washington Post

National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that countrys ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials, current and former U.S. officials said.
Flynns communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted by some senior U.S. officials as an inappropriate and potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration in late December to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election.

Flynn on Wednesday denied that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak. Asked in an interview whether he had ever done so, he twice said, No.On Thursday, Flynn, through his spokesman, backed away from the denial. The spokesman said Flynn indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldnt be certain that the topic never came up.
. . . .

The talks were part of a series of contacts between Flynn and Kislyak that began before the Nov. 8 election and continued during the transition, officials said. In a recent interview, Kislyak confirmed that he had communicated with Flynn by text message, by phone and in person, but declined to say whether they had discussed sanctions.
.. .
Flynn has frequently boasted that he was the first DIA director to be invited into the headquarters of Russias military intelligence directorate, known as the GRU, although at least one of his predecessors was granted similar access. Flynn thought he developed some rapport with the GRU chief, a former senior U.S. military official said. U.S. intelligence agencies say they have tied the GRU to Russias theft of troves of email messages from Democratic Party computer networks and accuse Moscow of then delivering those materials to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, which published them in phases during the campaign to hurt Hillary Clinton, Trumps Democratic rival.Flynn was pushed out of the DIA job in 2014 amid concerns about his management of the sprawling agency. He became a fierce critic of the Obama administration before joining the Trump campaign last year.


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/national-security-adviser-flynn-discussed-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador-despite-denials-officials-say/2017/02/09/f85b29d6-ee11-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html?

---

Yes, the suspicions were already there, but still: bombshell.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Payback. . . . nt

[Frogg]

2. Of course he did...Boris Flynn is a scary little cockroach...

Thanks for he post!

[MBS]

3. Boy, is he ever.

Dr. Strangelove, in the flesh.

[mobeau69]

4. This part:

On Thursday, Flynn, through his spokesman, backed away from the denial. The spokesman said Flynn indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldnt be certain that the topic never came up.

[riversedge]

14. ha ha.

[royable]

18. Somebody with that bad a memory shouldn't be in his position, then!

He's damned either way!

[procon]

5. That guy lies a lot.

Like Trump, he's too full of himself and it shouldn't come as any great shock if/when either one of them sold us out to Russia just because they want to look like a big shot.

[MBS]

8. Both of them are also mentally unstable. n/t

[KittyWampus]

6. It's illegal for him to be doing diplomacy since Obama was still POTUS.

[MBS]

7. to say the least.

It's been obvious for awhile (Remember that RT dinner from Dec 2015, when Flynn sat at the head table with Putin? Remember when he tried to portray RT as just another media source, like CNN?
And so much more).
But it's now undeniable.

[Marie Marie]

16. Does illegal have any consequences at all?

The laws governing our politicians and government appointees are a joke. They could produce and audio and video tape of him caught in the act and NOTHING will happen.

[justhanginon]

9. This administration, when it all shakes out, will go down as one

of the most venal, corrupt and morally deficient in the history of this country. Historians will not be kind to this regime.

[MBS]

10. Yes to everything you said.

Plus it's , by far, the most incompetent administration I've seen in my lifetime

[justhanginon]

12. Right you are and that incompetency may either save us

if there is anything left to save or in the alternative get us all killed.

[not fooled]

11. And we're only a few weeks in.

I shudder to think what lies ahead.

Moronic dump voters. turning down a competent civil servant in Hillary to take a gamble on the orange thug and his criminal cohorts.

Oh well, at least we avoided her emails

[justhanginon]

13. I think that is what hurts the most, knowing what this country

could have had and where we would be if Hillary had been elected.

[briv1016]

25. History is written by the victor.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

30. "one of"? Also, "Author! Author!"

By Greg Miller, Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima February 9 at 11:25 PM

....
Greg Miller covers intelligence agencies and terrorism for The Washington Post. Follow @gregpmiller

Adam Entous writes about national security, foreign policy and intelligence for The Post. He joined the newspaper in 2016 after more than 20 years with The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, where he covered the Pentagon, the CIA, the White House and Congress. He covered President George W. Bush for five years after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Follow @adamentous

Ellen Nakashima is a national security reporter for The Washington Post. She focuses on issues relating to intelligence, technology and civil liberties. Follow @nakashimae

[triron]

15. Duh.

[longship]

17. Rachel reported this tonight, too.

Isn't this a violation of the Logan Act?

[Grammy23]

20. I think you may be correct.

When this contact between Flynn and the Ambassador first came to light, I think I remember discussion of why it was illegal and the Logan Act was mentioned. Basically, it boiled down to his contact with a foreign country while the Obama Administration was still in office. Big No No.

But who knows what the punishment is? If any....

[oasis]

19. LOCK HIM UP.

[pdxDem]

21. Trump and Putin Sitting in a Tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

[link:|]

[neverforget]

22. Seems that Gaius Baltar runs this administration

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Baltar

At the onset of the show, he is involved in a sexual relationship with a beautiful blonde woman. Believing her to be working for a corporation in the defense industry, and desiring a more permanent relationship with her, he gives her access to the highly classified Colonial defense mainframe (an act of treason punishable by the death penalty) so her employers can have an advantage in future contract bidding. In exchange for his access to the government mainframe, she helps him design a navigation program used by Colonial warships, covertly creating backdoors in the program.[2] When the Cylons attack the Twelve Colonies, they use those backdoors to penetrate software security firewalls, disabling entire fighter squadrons outright and sabotaging vital capital-ship systems. On the day the Cylons attack humanity, the woman reveals she is an advanced Cylon, model Number Six (later known as Caprica Six), and she used the information that Baltar gave her to shut down the Colonial defenses, thus making him responsible for the Cylons' successful genocidal campaign against the Twelve Colonies. Baltar manages to survive the nuclear explosion that destroys his home due to Caprica Six using her body to shield him.[3]

Having unintentionally brought about the near-annihilation of the human species, Baltar flees Caprica when Karl Agathon gives up his place on a Raptor, feeling that his own life is less important to save than a famed scientist's. The Raptor returns to the Battlestar Galactica, where Baltar attempts to endear himself to Laura Roslin, the new President of the remnants of the Twelve Colonies, and hopes to conceal his involvement in the genocide that has taken place.

[UCmeNdc]

23. A Dubious Traitor

[Solly Mack]

24. Flynn has been compromised.

He should hold no government position and he should now be investigated (and charged).

[Blue_Tires]

26. Greenwald and his shitstains at the Intercept were unavailable for comment

Seriously -- Are they still denying Russian involvement this late in the game?






(I told you people I have a long memory and that I was going to have my vengeance if it took the rest of my life)

[Blue_Tires]

27. LOL

#NotesFromUnderTrump, Day 22: the day the American Left woke up to discover it had one reason to love the FISA.

Link to tweet

[MBS]

29. LOL is right!

[brooklynite]

28. Someone's going to get a stern "counseling"...

[Blue_Tires]

31. Glenn throws more shade

Link to tweet

[3_Limes]

32. So who is actually responsible for acting on this?

It must fall under the job description of some office or entity to evaluate these claims and take appropriate action(s). And I want to watch to be sure that entity is fully engaged here. So whom should I be watching? (And my apologies if I'm asking a ridiculously elementary questions that I should already know the answer to.)

[triron]

33. Isn't this criminal?