Thread by @The_War_Economy

"Justice Department warned White House that Flynn could be vulnerable to Russian blackmail, officials say"

Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima, Philip Rucker (with contributions from Karen DeYoung and Greg Miller), The Washington Post, February 13, 2017

washingtonpost.com/world/national…

"Two officials said a main topic of the relevant call was the sanctions. Officials also said there was no evidence that Russia had attempted to exploit the discrepancy between public statements by Trump officials and what Flynn had discussed."

"U.S. intelligence reports during the 2016 presidential campaign showed that Kislyak was in touch with Flynn, officials said. Communications between the two continued after Trump's victory on Nov. 8, according to officials with access to intelligence reports on the matter."

"For Yates and other officials, concerns about the communications peaked in the days after the Obama administration on Dec. 29 announced measures to punish Russia for what it said was the Kremlin's interference in the election in an attempt to help Trump."

"After the sanctions were rolled out, the Obama administration braced itself for the Russian retaliation. To the surprise of many US officials, President Vladimir Putin announced on Dec. 30 that there would be no response. Trump praised the decision on Twitter."

"Intelligence analysts began to search for clues that could help explain Putin's move. The search turned up Kislyak's communications, which the FBI routinely monitors, and the phone call in question with Flynn."

"From that call and subsequent intercepts, FBI agents wrote a secret report summarising Flynn's discussions with Kislyak."

"Yates and other intelligence officials suspected that Flynn could be in violation of an obscure U.S. statute known as the Logan Act, which bars U.S. citizens from interfering in diplomatic disputes with another country."

"... In addition to the legal and political hurdles, Yates and other officials were aware of an FBI investigation looking at possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia, which now included the Flynn-Kislyak communications."

"Before the Pence statement on Jan. 15, top Justice Department and intelligence officials had discussed whether the incoming Trump White House should be notified about the contents of the Flynn-Kislyak communications."

"Pence's statement on CBS made the issue more urgent, current and former officials said, because U.S. intelligence agencies had reason to believe that Russia was aware that Flynn and Kislyak had discussed sanctions in their December call, contrary to public statements."

"The internal debate over how to handle the intelligence on Flynn and Kislyak came to a head on Jan. 19, Obama's last full day in office."

"Yates, Clapper and Brennan argued for briefing the incoming administration so the new president could decide how to deal with the matter. The officials discussed options, including telling Pence, the incoming WH counsel, the incoming Chief of Staff or Trump himself."

"FBI Director James B. Comey initially opposed notification, citing concerns that it could complicate the agency's investigation."

"[After Jan. 23], Yates again raised the issue with Comey, who now backed away from his opposition to informing the White House. Yates and the senior career national security official spoke to McGahn."