The accounts of the conversations raise the prospect that Mr. Flynn violated a law against private citizens’ engaging in diplomacy, and directly contradict statements made by Trump advisers. They have insisted that Mr. Flynn spoke to Mr. Kislyak a few days after Christmas merely to arrange a phone call between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Mr. Trump after the inauguration. Days before Mr. Trump’s inauguration, Vice President-elect Mike Pence denied that Mr. Flynn had discussed sanctions with Mr. Kislyak. He said he had personally spoken to Mr. Flynn, who assured him that the conversation was an informal chat that began with Mr. Flynn extending Christmas wishes. They were even more surprised that Mr. Trump’s team publicly denied that the topics of conversation included sanctions.

Source: New York Times February 10, 2017 04:11 UTC