Sally Yates : warned White House that Flynn was a blackmail risk
(CNN)Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates said Monday that she alerted the White House earlier this year that former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn could be "essentially blackmailed by the Russians."
"We believed that Gen. Flynn was compromised with respect to the Russians," Yates told a Senate judiciary subcommittee, in a high-profile hearing on Russian meddling into the US election.
Yates told the panel that she had a meeting with White House Counsel Donald McGahn on January 26 to tell him that she had information that statements by Vice President Mike Pence, based on his conversations with Flynn, were false. She was joined in the meeting by a senior career official in the Justice Department.
"We weren't the only ones that knew all of this, that the Russians also knew about what General Flynn had done and the Russians also knew that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others," Yates said, relating the contents of her conversation with McGahn.
Yates was speaking at a hearing led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, who opened the hearing with an implicit rebuke of the President and his alternative explanations for the interference in the election.
The South Carolina Republican said the hacking was not the work of "some 400-pound guy sitting on a bed or any other country," a reference to a comment Trump has previously made on the matter.
In her opening statement, Yates said that she planned to be as "fulsome and comprehensive as possible" within ethical and legal boundaries.
Yates also warned in her opening testimony that there were some issues she could not address publicly because they involved classified information. Similarly, she said that as a former official she was not authorized to discuss Department of Justice or other executive branch deliberations. It was not immediately clear how those constraints would affect her testimony on the Flynn question. Neither Flynn nor Trump were directly referenced in her opening statement.
"The efforts by a foreign adversary to interfere and undermine our democratic processes — and those of our allies — pose a serious threat to all Americans," Yates said.
Graham asked Yates whether she had any information about whether there was collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia.
"My answer to that question would require me to reveal classified information," Yates said.
At one point in the hearing Graham asked both Clapper and Yates how information about Flynn's conversations with the Russian ambassador, that eventually led to his sacking, made it into the newspapers. Trump asked a similar question earlier on Twitter. Both former official said they did not know how that happened.
Lawmakers have been wrangling behind the scenes at the Capitol to bring in Yates ever since it was reported that she warned Trump's White House counsel, Don McGahn, that Flynn had talked about US sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Officials later confirmed to CNN that Trump transition officials warned Flynn against calling Kislyak, saying that Kislyak was likely being monitored by US intelligence.
Sally Yates says she warned White House that Flynn was a blackmail risk https://t.co/UiuVBGiAZ5
Comment
-
Comment by Boris on May 8, 2017 at 4:41pm
-
Sean Spicer Mocks Democrats: Maybe Sally Yates Will Tell Us How Russia Kept Hillary from Wisconsin?
-
-
#BREAKING #SallyYates: “We believed that Gen. Flynn was compromised with respect to the Russians” WATCH LIVE >> https://t.co/URvsqrgT8W
"Destroying the New World Order"
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!
Latest Activity
- Top News
- Everything
"Personally, I don't consider Don Lemon or people like him to be journalists at all. They are…"
The Farmer vs the Billionaire — Jeremy Clarkson Says NO to Bill Gates’ £100 Million Deal | UK News
OFFICIAL NOTICE: This channel is NOT Jeremy Clarkson, is not affiliated with him, and does not represent his official views or Diddly Squat Farm. This is an ...
The Forbidden Canyon and It’s Residents
Chapter OneSituated 10 miles from Mount Jefferson in the Oregon wilderness a forest researcher…See More
G_LrzqtXMAAhT7w
"He would never do that. Mosques and Synagogues are out of the question, only Christianity is free…"
Disgraced Former CNN Anchor Don Lemon Arrested
No longer an employed journalist, Don Lemon had been seen with far left agitator, Nekima Levy…See More
The Illusion of Fuck You Money
The United States use to have this idea that once you make enough money, you.can do as you want.…See More
The Human Antenna - OFFICIAL FILM
THE HUMAN ANTENNA - Can We Reverse The Trans Humanist Agenda?MORE INFORMATION: → www.humanantennafilm.com ← MASTERPEACE: https://mphcs.com/PrimeEarthHuman En...
"PS Not sure this video will last much longer."
" Deflection ~ Away from Themselves ! example. -->…"
Hi-Rez & Jimmy Levy - This Is A War (Official Video)
Disclaimer: The views, information, opinions and/or activities expressed in this video are solely those of the individuals appearing in the video, and do no...
Berlin 1945: Waiting for the End | Diary of a Metropolis UNCENSORED FOOTAGE
At the beginning of 1945, Berlin is under the illusion that they will survive the war. Every day there are bombing attacks, fires to be extinguished, and cor...
© 2026 Created by truth.
Powered by
You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!
Join 12160 Social Network