February 10, 2017 03:31 PM UTC

Treason

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: The New Republic’s Lovia Gyarkye speculates that Michael Flynn may be headed under the wheels sooner rather than later:

Trump’s national security advisor Michael Flynn is being tossed under the bus. The last time we checked in with Flynn, Trump was complaining that he was overbearing and talked too much. Now it appears he is in some serious trouble, with The Washington Post reporting that Flynn, despite his and the Trump administration’s denials, did in fact discuss U.S. sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak last December, when Barack Obama was still in office. According to current and former American officials, Flynn’s communications were “inappropriate” and a “potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration in late December to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election.”

Flynn is now backing away from his denials, telling the Post that “while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.” This puts him at odds with some members of the Trump administration, most notably Vice President Mike Pence, who publicly went to bat for Flynn. Last month, Pence denied that Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian officials. Now the White House is telling the Post that he “made his comments based on his conversation with Flynn.”

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UPDATE: Looks like Flynn could be headed for a new role — under the bus. From Politico:

An administration official told POLITICO that Pence’s remarks came after a conversation with Flynn and were guided by that conversation — leaving open the possibility that Flynn misled the Vice President just as he repeatedly denied the allegations to the Washington Post before acknowledging the topic may have been discussed.

Privately, Pence aides expressed frustration at their boss being placed in such a position.

Even if Pence was not aware that sanctions were discussed between Flynn and the Russian ambassador when he made his comments, the episode could leave him with diminished standing, concerning those around him. For the national security adviser to mislead the Vice President on such a sensitive issue with impunity would seem to send a signal about Pence’s standing in the West Wing, a Pence adviser said.

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We’re going to need an entirely new name for this scandal from the Trump administration. The tradition of tacking “-gate” onto the end of a different word, as sort of a hat tip to “Watergate,” was a fine idea for awhile, but what’s happening now deserves its own title.

If Michael Flynn talked to Russian Amb. in December about lifting sanctions it violates Logan Act, is treasonous https://t.co/18cBz3qAas

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) February 10, 2017

As the Washington Post reported late Thursday:

National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials, current and former U.S. officials said.

Flynn’s communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted by some senior U.S. officials as an inappropriate and potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration in late December to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election.

Flynn on Wednesday denied that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak. Asked in an interview whether he had ever done so, he twice said, “No.”

On Thursday, Flynn, through his spokesman, backed away from the denial. The spokesman said Flynn “indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.” [Pols emphasis]…

…Nine current and former officials, who were in senior positions at multiple agencies at the time of the calls, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

All of those officials said ­Flynn’s references to the election-related sanctions were explicit. Two of those officials went further, saying that Flynn urged Russia not to overreact to the penalties being imposed by President Barack Obama, making clear that the two sides would be in position to review the matter after Trump was sworn in as president. [Pols emphasis]

We are rapidly approaching a point where the National Security Advisor to the President of the United States could be investigated for violating “The Logan Act,” which is intended to forbid unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign governments in a manner that could undermine official U.S. policy.

Let’s be clear: Mike Flynn violated Logan Act (on behalf of Trump) & he lied about it. VP may have lied too. We’re in uncharted waters here.

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) February 10, 2017

Vice President Mike Pence could get sucked into this scandal soon as well; Pence, after all, has gone on the record denying these conversations with Russia ever happened.

We suppose it could just be a spectacular coincidence that several Republican Senators — including Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) — have suddenly decided that they should start covering their respective arses by asking President Trump to get tough on Russia.

This is not some wild conspiracy theory. This is happening, and it reaches the highest levels of government.