There have been reports that Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is on thin ice at the White House but CNN reports that White House sources say Flynn has no plans to resign and that he doesn’t expect to be fired.
However, outspoken Trump critic Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, told CNN’s Manu Raju this morning that if Flynn lied, he “can’t continue” as National Security Adviser.
“I think this is pretty black and white. If there’s evidence that makes it clear that Flynn lied to the Vice President and others, then his credibility is shot, and he can’t continue to be national security adviser.
“If the reports are true, President Trump has access to a transcript that can tell him very clearly whether his National Security adviser lied to the vice president and to the White House. If he did, then he probably has to go.”
In a statement Friday, Murphy condemned Flynn, saying,
“There is no good way to explain today’s report that Michael Flynn was coordinating sanctions relief for Russia before his boss was inaugurated. Either Donald Trump directed his National Security Adviser to undermine U.S. foreign policy on Russia, or Michael Flynn went rogue and did it on his own. Then he either lied to the Vice President or the Vice President went on television to lie to the American people. Whatever transpired, the President needs to get his White House under control. I’m glad the FBI is continuing its investigation, because these troubling reports raise more red flags about the administration’s intentions and integrity.”
What Trump does – if he does anything – is a big deal. He can distance himself from Flynn and protect his presidency, or he risks going down with his National Security Adviser if investigations prove him guilty.
Nancy Pelosi has called for Flynn to be suspended and his intelligence clearance revoked. And things are bad enough for Trump as they stand, with each passing day costing him credibility.
As Amy Siskind puts it, “The fact that Flynn still has a job confirms that he was doing as instructed by Trump – and the rest of the regime knew too.”
Murphy is right. Flynn has to go. And if Trump does nothing, his inaction alone will tell us everything we need to know about Donald Trump’s relations with Vladimir Putin:
As former Nixon White House counsel John Dean tweeted Friday, “If Michael Flynn survives lying to Pence, Priebus & Spicer, Trump is either complicit or compromised by Putin or both!”