Ex-attorney general says had warned Trump of Flynn’s contacts

The former US acting attorney general says she had warned about contacts between President Donald Trump’s ex-national security adviser and Russian government officials.

Sally Yates revealed during an open hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday that she had warned the Trump administration against appointing General Michael Flynn as national security adviser.

Yates told the panel, which is investigating Russia’s alleged interference in the US presidential election last year, that former national security adviser had created a "compromise situation" and could have been "blackmailed" because he lied to his bosses about his contacts with Russians.

“We weren’t the only ones that knew all of this,” Yates said, referring to revelations that Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about the true content of a December call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

“The Russians also knew about what General Flynn had done. The Russians also knew that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others," she said. “This was a problem because not only do we believe that the Russians knew this, but that they likely had proof of this information — and that created a compromise situation, where the national security adviser essentially could be blackmailed by the Russians."

Flynn was forced to resign from his position as Trump's first national security adviser in February.

The alleged conversation with Kislyak, which took place before Trump’s inauguration, centered on lifting then-President Barack Obama’s sanctions against Russia. Any discussion of sanctions at that time would have amounted to a breach of US law banning private citizens from engaging in foreign policy.

Flynn, later rejected such claims and was backed by the vice president, who said the calls “had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions."

The FBI, as well as the Senate and House intelligence committees, are investigating Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and any possible ties between Trump's associates and Moscow.

Yates herself was fired in January for betraying the Department of Justice by defying Trump’s Muslim ban and refusing to enforce “a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United State.”

Obama had warned Trump against Flynn

Meanwhile, US media announced on Monday that Obama had warned the businessman-turned-politician against hiring Flynn for national security adviser during their meeting after the election.

Three former Obama administration officials confirmed to NBC News that the warning had been made during an Oval Office meeting less than 48 hours after the November 2016 election.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told the media outlet that Obama did talk to Trump, making clear he was "not exactly a fan of General Michael Flynn."

A former senior Obama administration official also told CNN that, "Given the importance of the job, the President thought there were better people for it, and that Flynn wasn't up for the job.”

Flynn began advising Trump on national security in early 2016 and soon became a constant presence by Trump's side as he attended most rallies across the country.

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