Story highlights
Spicer said there had been "a series of other questionable instances" in Flynn's conduct
The drama over Flynn now threatens to morph into a bigger controversy
The White House struggled Tuesday to answer an avalanche of questions over national security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation.
Flynn was asked to quit Monday after it became public that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about whether he had discussed US sanctions during pre-inauguration phone calls with the Kremlin’s man in Washington, Sergey Kislyak.
In new developments Tuesday, it emerged that President Donald Trump was told on January 26 – more than two weeks ago – that the Justice Department had concerns about Flynn’s conduct.
Pence did not find out he had been misled until February 9, according to two administration officials.
“It’s not that he was being left out. It was a legal review,” one source said.
When Pence began his inquiry based on Washington Post reporting, “the timeline moved fast,” the source said.
A subsequent review by White House counsel Donald McGahn found that he had not broken the law in his conversations with the Russian envoy. If Flynn discussed detailed policy with the Russian envoy, he could have theoretically infringed the Logan Act that prevents private citizens negotiating with foreign governments over their disputes with the United States.