Former national security adviser Michael Flynn continued to be exposed to top secret intelligence even though the Central Intelligence Agency was aware he was susceptible to blackmail by the Russian government, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo would not tell Senators in May whether he was aware of the concerns inside his own agency as he presented the classified President's Daily Brief to President Donald Trump with Flynn at his side for more than three weeks before Flynn eventually resigned.
"I can't answer yes or no," Pompeo said at the time. "I regret that I'm unable to do so."
Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee told the Times, "Either Director Pompeo had no idea what people in the CIA reportedly knew about Michael Flynn, or he knew about the Justice Department’s concerns and continued to discuss America's secrets with a man vulnerable to blackmail."
Either way, Wyden said, "I believe Director Pompeo owes the public an explanation."
The CIA declined to say whether Pompeo was aware of the concerns. The Times quoted an anonymous administration official as saying that Pompeo never relayed any such concerns to Trump.
Flynn's failure to fully disclose his foreign lobbying efforts sent up multiple red flags before his eventual resignation on Feb. 13, but the Trump administration said it still gave him the benefit of the doubt because they were not certain how serious to take the allegations.
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