Perhaps the openhanded takeaway from theSenate hearing on Russiaarrived before it even begin : Had Donald Trump takenPresident Obama ’s adviceback in November , and chosen anyone but Michael Flynn to be his national security consultant , there would have far few Americans glued to C - SPAN on Monday .
But there were good deal of other intriguing mo that unfolded once the television camera were turn on , too .
Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates , for instance , filled in quite a few lacuna with regards to how Flynn , a retired three - star general , became unemployed less than a calendar month into his White House job . James Clapper , the former director of national intelligence , revealed just how little he really have a go at it about the Russia probe . And Senator Ted Cruz evince us that someone who ’s argued nine cases before the Supreme Court can still get have in a telecast legal argumentation .
If you were n’t glued to your varan for all three hours of testimony ( and no one ’s blaming you ) here are few key moment you might ’ve missed :
Yates’s warning to the White House
Thanks to a fewtimely leaksback in February , it was well established that Yates had warned the White House about Flynn in the days before she was fire . The precise details of those exchanges have remain a bit fuzzy , however . Yates bind the Senate committee on Monday by offering an precise timeline of her multiple meetings with the White House counsel ’s office before she was terminated from the DOJ .
On Wednesday , January 25 , Yates receive a theme detailing the FBI ’s interview of Flynn concerning his December phone call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak . During the interview , Flynn denied discussing US sanctions against Russia , but tally that he could n’t return every moment of the conversation .
The next day , Yates called White House counsel Donald McGahn and secernate him that she needed to discuss “ a very sensitive matter . ” She then travel McGahn ’s White House office and inform him that Flynn ’s story was contradicted by info obtain by the FBI . Flynn had , in fact , talk about sanctions with the Russian ambassador , she said . This was problematical because , on multiple occasions , Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials had in public claim the opposite while rely on Flynn ’s translation of events .
When Don McGahn ask how Flynn did in his FBI interview , Sally Yates declined to answer . That can not be good news for Gen. Flynn .
— Ken Dilanian ( @KenDilanianNBC)May 8 , 2017
This is the first ground Yates cite for why she was inform the McGahn about Flynn ’s manifest dishonesty .
The second reason , she said , was that the Kremlin was amply cognisant of Flynn ’s quandary . Kislyak had doubtless informed Moscow that sanctions had been talk over , and therefore the Russians knew that the Trump administration had misrepresented the substance of those conversations to the press . The president ’s top security advisor was vulnerable to blackmail — an issue that ultimately convinced Yates of the White House ’s motive - to - sleep with .
On January 27 , Yates met with McGahn for a second time . agree to Yates , one question McGahn asked was : “ Why does it count to DOJ if one White House official lie to another ? ” McGahn was allegedly hesitant to take action against Flynn , citing the FBI ’s ongoing investigation . To alleviate his concern , Yates says she told McGahn : “ It would n’t really be honest of us to tell you this and then expect you to ride on your handwriting . ”
https://twitter.com/embed/status/861666829973979136
McGahn also requested approach to the FBI ’s “ underlying grounds ” of Flynn ’s misconduct , Yates said . But when she reached out “ first thing ” that Monday to provide McGahn with access to the files , she never received a response . By the end of the daytime , she was fired for ordering the Justice Department not to hold Trump ’s Muslim ban . ( As acting attorney general , she was unconvinced that Trump ’s order was constitutional , vexation later reflected in the decision of federal judges across the country . )
Obama warned Trump against hiring Flynn
President Obama in person warn Trump against hiring Flynn during a 90 - minute conversation in the Oval Office just two days after the election , NBC News report ahead of Monday ’s audition . Among other issues , Obama reportedly adduce Flynn ’s “ mismanagement and temperament publication ” while head of the Defense Intelligence Agency ( DIA ) .
Flynn ’s leadership style has beendescribedby his former DIA colleague as “ disruptive ” and “ helter-skelter . ” His ultra views on Islam drew particular concern .
Theleaked emailsof former Secretary of State Colin Powell — authenticated by his own staff — provide multiple understanding for why Flynn was “ canned ” by Obama from the DIA three geezerhood ago : Flynn was “ scurrilous ” with his stave , display poor management acquisition , and often turn against the giving medication ’s insurance policy , wrote Powell , who further characterize Flynn as “ right - wing nutty , ” a repulse ostensibly substantiate by Flynn ’s preference for endorsing flaky cabal theories . Six daytime before the 2016 election , for instance , Flynn tweetedthat a new batch of Hillary Clinton emails revealed “ Money Laundering ” and “ Sex Crimes [ with ] Children . ” ( They did not . )
General Flynn was given the highest certificate headroom by the Obama Administration – but the Fake News seldom like talking about that .
— Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump)May 8 , 2017
out front of the earshot on Monday , Trump tweeted that “ General Flynn was given the high security clearance by the Obama governance , but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that . ” This remark seems particularly disingenuous give that we now know Obama deport a warning about Flynn in person .
Also revealed on Monday outside the auditory sense : Flynn never informed the DIA that he was paid closely $ 34,000 by RT News , the Russia res publica medium electric receptacle . According toNBC News , the Pentagon is currently investigating whether Flynn ’s bankruptcy to disclose violates a inbuilt ban on retire general accepting foreign payments .
Ted Cruz puts foot in mouth
If you tuned out after the first hour of testimony , you probably overleap Ted Cruz getting owned by Yates . Very unfortunate .
Courtesy of USA Today , here ’s the footage in all its glory :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S2XezafogA
As even his critics are not ashamed to admit , Cruz is a skilled litigant . The New Yorkeronce tag him — uproariously , in retrospect—“the far right ’s most redoubtable counsellor . ” ( To be fair , no one could have foreseen Cruz bested by a candidate squall him “ Lyin ’ Ted Cruz ” and implicate his father in the JFK blackwash . ) What ’s more , the nine cases Cruz contend before the U.S. Supreme Court are sure as shooting enough to set up his debate bona fides .
Nevertheless , Cruz ’s attempt to rattle Yates with a planning of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( INA ) failed spectacularly , guide an hearable response from the art gallery . quote from the jurisprudence , Cruz cited the chair ’s authority to set aside immigration into the US of “ any alien or socio-economic class of unknown ” that the president finds “ prejudicious to the interest of the United States . ”
Yates not intimidated to debate law with the greasy public debate champ .
— emptywheel ( chicklet ) ( @emptywheel)May 8 , 2017
Yates calmly fired back , cite the same law , which also says that “ no person shall experience any penchant or antecedence or be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person ’s slipstream , sexual urge , nationality , place of birth , or space of residence . ” She further clarify that her reason for opposing Trump ’s travel forbidding was not that it violated the INA , but the US Constitution , which supersede the authority of any US police force , including the INA .
The FBI kept Clapper in the dark
Earlier this year , Clapper delighted Trump supporters when he say on NBC ’s Meet The Press that he had find “ no evidence of such collusion ” between members of the Trump movement and the Russians . What few people took into account statement before Monday ’s hearing was just how little Clapper knew about about the FBI ’s investigation — which is next to nothing , ostensibly .
Clapper bear witness on Monday that he was incognizant of the investigating until after FBI Director James Comeydisclosed its existenceon March 20 , weeks after the Clapper ’s NBC interview . Here ’s the full quote from Clapper , which he gave during his curtain raising remarks :
During my tenure as DNI , it was my practice to put over to the FBI film director , both Director Mueller and then later on Director Comey , on whether , when and to what extent they would inform me about such investigations . This stems from the unique position of the FBI , which straddles both intelligence information and law enforcement . And as a consequence , I was not aware of the counterintelligence investigation Director Comey first come to to during his testimonial before the House Permanent Select Committee for Intelligence on the 20th of March , and that comports with my public statements .
And yet another tweet from the Chief Executive about the hearing seemed altogether divorced from reality :
Director Clapper iterate what everybody , including the imitation media already knows- there is " no evidence " of collusion w/ Russia and Trump .
The FBI ’s investigating trudge forward silently with much of its advancement ( or lack thereof ) taking home behind closed in door . The Senate investigation , led by Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner , has reportedly devolved into a “ standoff ” between Democrats who want to egress subpoenas and Republicans who wished they ’d rather not . The House Intelligence Committee is reportedly picking up some steam ( in closed sessions ) surveil therecusalof chairman Devin Nunes , a Trump military campaign fundraiser and transition team appendage .
fall into place here to watch the full Senate audience at C - SPAN .
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