WASHINGTON: The White House was warned in January that Donald Trump’s national security advisor Michael Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail, a top former official told lawmakers Monday, as the issue of the president’s ties to Moscow returned to the spotlight. Pence said in January that Flynn denied those calls involved sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama administration in response to its election meddling. Yates’ comments came after former Obama officials revealed that the outgoing president himself firmly warned Trump against naming Flynn as national security advisor, just two days after the November 8 election. The dual testimony by Yates and Clapper returned the spotlight to the simmering controversy over Russia’s meddling in last year’s US election. Probes by several congressional committees into Russian election meddling have been bogged down for weeks amid accusations by Democrats that Republicans have stalled progress to protect the White House.

Source: Manila Times May 08, 2017 23:48 UTC