But Mr. Flynn is believed to have told Mr. Pence that sanctions and other policy was not discussed. Mr. Pence later said on television that Mr. Flynn’s call with the Russian ambassador was an informal chat. A former administration official said that the transcript is ambiguous enough to give the White House justification, should Mr. Trump want to retain Mr. Flynn. The former official said Mr. Flynn urged that Russia not retaliate against any sanctions because an overreaction would make any future cooperation more complicated. Mr. Flynn never explicitly promised sanctions relief, the former official said, but he appeared to leave the impression that it would be possible.

Source: New York Times February 13, 2017 22:58 UTC