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FBI Interviewed Flynn Early On

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“FBI agents interviewed Michael Flynn when he was national security adviser in the first days of the Trump administration about his conversations with the Russian ambassador,” the New York Times reports.

“The interview raises the stakes of what so far has been a political scandal that cost Mr. Flynn his job. If he was not entirely honest with the FBI, it could expose Mr. Flynn to a felony charge.”

Ryan Lizza: “Both Congress and the FBI are looking into Flynn’s links to Russia. There are several former Obama officials who saw transcripts of his calls with the Russian Ambassador. The dripping has only just begun.”

White House Posts Wrong Versions of Orders on Website

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“The White House has posted inaccurate texts of President Trump’s own executive orders on the White House website, raising further questions about how thorough the Trump administration has been in drafting some of his most controversial actions,” USA Today reports.

“A review of presidential documents found at least five cases where the version posted on the White House website doesn’t match the official version sent to the Federal Register. The differences include minor grammatical changes, missing words and paragraph renumbering — but also two cases where the original text referred to inaccurate or non-existent provisions of law.”


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GOP Senators Want Flynn to Testify

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Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the Senate’s second-ranking Republican, called for an investigation into connections between President Trump and Russia, and want former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to testify, CNN reports.

Meanwhile, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) told KTRS radio that an investigation “needs” to happen.

Quote of the Day

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“I find it hard to believe Gen. Flynn would just go rogue, seems more likely someone directed him to engage Russians.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on CNN.

Russia Secretly Deployed Missile That Violates Treaty

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“Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile despite complaints from American officials that it violates a landmark arms control treaty that helped seal the end of the Cold War,” the New York Times reports.

“The move presents a major challenge for President Trump, who has vowed to improve relations with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to pursue future arms accords.”

“The Obama administration had sought to persuade the Russians to correct the violation while the missile was still in the test phase. Instead, the Russians have moved ahead with the system, deploying a fully operational unit. Administration officials said the Russians now have two battalions of the prohibited cruise missile.”

House Oversight Committee Won’t Investigate Flynn

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House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) “said that his panel won’t investigate the circumstances that led to Michael Flynn stepping down Monday as President Trump’s national security adviser,” The Hill reports.

“Instead, Chaffetz deferred to the House Intelligence Committee, which is already investigating Russia’s attempt to influence the presidential elections, a scope that includes campaign communications with the Russian government.”

An Open Air Situation Room?

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Rick Klein: “The Facebook account has since been deleted, and the pictures themselves – the president and his top aides smiling at a pleasant dinner with the prime minister of Japan – are innocent enough. But the idea that they were discussing the details of a North Korean missile launch, inside cellphone camera range (if not quite earshot) of members of the Mar-a-Lago Club – is head-scratching. ‘Trump turned his table into an al fresco situation room,’ the Washington Post reported.”

“Even if that’s not exactly what it was – we don’t know what, specifically, was discussed – the idea that this is the new normal is astounding. After a campaign where email security and hacking was kind of a big deal, this is kind of nuts. And isn’t the White House contention that only ‘logistics’ was discussed in public on Saturday night reminiscent of initial explanations for the Flynn phone call?”

Trump Staffers Now Using Encrypted Chat App

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Washington Post: “Upset about damaging leaks of his calls with world leaders and other national security information, Trump has ordered an internal investigation to find the leakers. Staffers, meanwhile, are so fearful of being accused of talking to the media that some have resorted to a secret chat app — Confide — that erases messages as soon as they’re read.”

“The chaos and competing factions that were a Trump trademark in business and campaigning now are starting to define his presidency, according to interviews with a dozen White House officials as well as other Republicans. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss internal White House dynamics and deliberations.”

Kim Jung Un’s Brother Killed with Poisoned Needles

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s brother has been assassinated in Malaysia, the Independent reports.

“Kim Jong-nam was killed at Kuala Lumpur airport after being attacked by two women with ‘poisoned needles,’ according to local TV reports. The two women, believed to be North Korean agents, escaped in a taxi and remain at large.”

A Remarkably Normal Political Scandal

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Washington Post: “What’s remarkable about the Flynn saga was how incredibly routine it was. A deeply damaging story comes out. The White House goes into bunker mode. Conflicting reports from conflicting aides emerge. And then, whammo: resignation.”

“It was a prototypical Washington scandal that played out like hundreds of similar ones before it. It felt, dare I say it, normal. Normal is worth noting in a presidency — and an administration — that has been anything but in its first 24 days.”

Playbook: “This shows that, despite the unorthodox approach to everything, Trump is still operating under some D.C. norms: don’t lie to the VP, and have him embarrass himself on national television on multiple occasions… Kellyanne Conway went on television hours before he was canned saying he had Trump’s full confidence. That should give you some context.”

Was Flynn Unaware His Phone Call was Tapped?

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Washington Post: “After the sanctions were rolled out, the Obama administration braced itself for the Russian retaliation. To the surprise of many U.S. officials, Russian 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 [Russian Ambassador Sergey] Kislyak’s communications, which the FBI routinely monitors, and the phone call in question with Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general with years of intelligence experience.”

Playbook: “Isn’t it shocking that Flynn didn’t suspect the Russian ambassador’s phone calls were being listened in on?”

Why Trump Let Flynn Go

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Politico: “Trump’s decision on what to do with Flynn was not easy, according to several people who spoke with him about it. The president values loyalty perhaps more than anything, and Flynn had been one of his most staunch surrogates on the campaign trail. The president saw Flynn as a fellow outsider who had a good sense of the national security challenges.”

“But Trump became increasingly convinced that the question of Flynn’s contact with Russia wasn’t going away. His top aides and advisers distrusted Flynn, according to senior White House officials and others who spoke with Trump, and Trump was concerned that the intelligence and national security community would always oppose Flynn, sources said.”

“Pence was unhappy with Flynn for not telling him the truth and told the president about his displeasure, a White House official said, but said he would accept whatever decision the president made.”

Mike Allen: Flynn’s 97 hours of hell

Republicans Should Fear Health Care Protests

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Jim VandeHei and David Nather: “Republicans aren’t panicked about the protests over their Obamacare repeal plans. They should be.”

“Democrats in Congress are under direct orders from party leaders to crank up their own protests, to build on the loud and angry demonstrations at Republican town halls. And there is every reason to believe they will be highly effective.”

“How do we know? Because Republicans exploited the same fears, energy and trends to do unto Democrats as Democrats are about to do unto them.”

New York Times: Angry town hall meetings and few answers

Harward Seen As Frontrunner to Replace Flynn

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New York Times: “Administration officials said it was unlikely that Mr. Kellogg would be asked to stay on as Mr. Flynn’s permanent replacement. Mr. Flynn brought Mr. Kellogg into the Trump campaign, according to a former campaign adviser, and the two have remained close. K. T. McFarland, the deputy national security adviser who also was brought on by Mr. Flynn, is expected to leave that role, a senior official said.”

“One person close to the administration, who was not authorized to discuss the personnel moves and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that retired Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward is the leading candidate to replace Mr. Flynn, although Mr. Kellogg and David H. Petraeus are being discussed. It was not clear whether Mr. Petraeus is still expected to appear at the White House this week, as initially discussed by advisers to the president.”

Russian Lawmakers Defend Flynn

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“Leading Russian lawmakers rushed to defend President Trump’s former national security adviser on Tuesday after he resigned for misleading senior White House officials, including Vice President Pence, about his contacts with Russia,” the Washington Post reports.

“The heads of the foreign affairs committees in both Russia’s upper and lower houses of parliament chalked up Michael Flynn’s resignation to a dark campaign of Russophobia in Washington, and said it would undermine relations between the White House and the Kremlin.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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