Flynn Resigns

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

I don't think the accusation was a big deal.  Technically, he did nothing illegal.  Flynn is accused of saying to a Russian diplomat that there "could" be sanctions against Russia, and he did so prior to holding an official position in Washington.  It could be a Logan Act violation, we are being told.  He denied the allegations, said it was simply an exchange of Christmas greetings, but the intelligence community said they had evidence saying otherwise.  Regardless of if you think what he said, or who he said it to, was a big deal, reality is that what was a big deal is that Flynn denied it, and denied it again, and got Vice President Pence to deny it for him, as well.  Except, the denial may be a lie.

In politics a lot can be stomached, but not lying.

Even Bill Clinton's hummer in the Oval Office was not what got him in hot water.  It was the fact that he lied about it.

Same for Nixon.  Did he, or did he not, know about Watergate?  Didn't matter, until he lied about it.

Flynn, it looks like, lied, and even worse, covering up his mess, according to the Justice Department, makes him vulnerable to blackmail.

Retired Army Gen. Keith Kellogg, a top policy adviser for Trump's presidential campaign, was appointed acting national security adviser, the White House said in a statement announcing Flynn's replacement.

Kellogg, 72, a former commander of the fabled 82nd Airborne Division, was chief operating officer of the Western coalition in Baghdad, Iraq, after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. A senior administration official told NBC News that Kellogg was under consideration for the permanent job, along with retired Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, former deputy commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, and former CIA Director David Petraeus.

"Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology," Flynn said in his resignation letter.

According to NBC's discussion with a White House official, President Trump and his top advisers had been "agonizing" over what to do about Flynn for days. The official, who was involved in the discussions, says the situation became unsustainable — not because of any issue of being compromised by Russia — but because he had lied to the president and the vice president.

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