WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats on Friday called for an investigation into whether White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn discussed U.S. sanctions in phone calls with Russia’s ambassador while President Barack Obama was still in office, conversations that may have broken U.S. law aimed at barring private citizens from conducting diplomacy.
The White House said President Donald Trump had “full confidence” in Flynn, a show of support coming as the administration scrambled to manage the fallout from reports that Flynn addressed U.S. sanctions against Russia in a phone call late last year. The report contradicted both Flynn’s previous denials, as well as those made by Vice President Mike Pence in a televised interview.
Democratic Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris Murphy of Connecticut called for an investigation of Flynn. Other Democrats demanded that Trump fire the retired U.S. Army lieutenant general.
“He lied — repeatedly and egregiously — about his actions,” Reps. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Ted Lieu of California said.
Two other Democrats, Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, sent a letter to U.S. intelligence officials requesting a review of Flynn’s security clearance. They said the reports of his calls to the Russian ambassador contribute to “questions concerning his suitability for continued access to classified information.”
A Trump administration official told The Associated Press Friday that Flynn “can’t be certain” sanctions did not come up on the call. The official said Flynn has “no recollection” of discussing the sanctions, but left open the possibility that the issue did come up when he spoke with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition.
The Kremlin denied Friday that Flynn and Kislyak discussed the sanctions before Trump took office.
The Washington Post, citing several current and former U.S. officials, reported late Thursday that Flynn made explicit references to election-related sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in his conversations with Kislyak.
The report immediately put pressure on the vice president, who had defended Flynn in television after news of the phone call first broke earlier this year.
A second administration official said Friday said Pence was relying on information from Flynn. A Pence official said the vice president and Flynn had a conversation in person on Friday morning.
The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity.
Flynn later traveled with the president to Florida, where Trump was hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Questions about Trump’s friendly posture toward Russia deepened after he dismissed the U.S. intelligence agencies’ assertions about Russia’s role in the hacking. In briefing Trump on their findings, intelligence officials also presented him with unsubstantiated claims that Russia had amassed compromising personal and financial allegations against him.
Members of the Trump administration have maintained that Flynn had spoken to the ambassador during the transition period to wish him a Merry Christmas and offer condolences after a deadly Russian plane crash.
One of the calls took place on Dec. 29, the day the Obama administration hit Moscow with sanctions in response to a U.S. intelligence assessment that the Russian government had interfered in the U.S. presidential election with the goal of helping Trump.
The Post report also raises questions about assertions made by Pence staunchly denying that Flynn’s contact with the Russian ambassador had anything to do with sanctions.