Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/786498
ByJuliePace,Eric Tucker and Jill Colvin TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned late Monday night, following re- ports that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia. His departure upends Trump's senior team after less than one month in office. In a resignation letter, Flynn said he held numer- ous calls with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. dur- ing the transition and gave "incomplete information" about those discussions to Vice President Mike Pence. The vice president, appar- ently relying on informa- tion from Flynn, initially said the national security adviser had not discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy, though Flynn later conceded the issue may have come up. Trump named retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as the acting national security adviser. Kellogg had previ- ously been appointed the National Security Council chief of staff and advised Trump on national security issues during the campaign. The Justice Department warned the Trump admin- istration weeks ago that contradictions between the public depictions and the actual details of the calls could leave Flynn in a compromised position, an administration official and two other people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press Monday night. One person with knowl- edge of the situation said the Justice Department alerted the White House that there was a discrep- ancy between what officials were saying publicly about the contacts and the facts of what had occurred. Pence — apparently relying on in- formation from Flynn — ini- tially said sanctions were not discussed in the calls, though Flynn has now told White House officials that the topic may have come up. A second official said the Justice Department was concerned Flynn could be in a compromised position as a result. The White House has been aware of the Justice Department warnings for "weeks," an administration official said, though it was unclear whether Trump and Pence had been alerted. The people insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to dis- cuss the matter publicly. The Washington Post was the first to report the com- munication between the Justice Department, includ- ing former acting attorney general Sally Yates, and the Trump administration. Flynn apologized to Pence last week, following a Washington Post report asserting that the national security adviser has indeed discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump was consulting with Pence on Monday about his con- versations with the na- tional security adviser. Asked whether the presi- dent had been aware that Flynn might discuss sanc- tions with the Russian en- voy, Spicer said, "No, abso- lutely not." Trump, who comments on a steady stream of is- sues on his Twitter feed, has been conspicuously si- lent about the matter since The Washington Post re- ported last week that Flynn had discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy. A U.S. official told The Associ- ated Press that Flynn was in frequent contact with Am- bassador Sergey Kislyak on the day the Obama adminis- tration slapped sanctions on Russia for election-related hacking, as well as at other times during the transition. Flynn's discussions with the Russian raised ques- tions about whether Flynn offered assurances about the incoming administra- tion's new approach. Such conversations would breach diplomatic protocol and possibly violate the Logan Act, a law aimed at keeping citizens from conducting di- plomacy. Earlier Monday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Trump had "full confidence" in Flynn, though her assertions were not backed up by other se- nior Trump aides. Spicer would say only that Flynn was continuing to carry out "his daily functions." Flynn was spotted near the Oval Office just after 10 p.m. Monday. Amid the un- certainty over Flynn's fu- ture, several of the presi- dent's top advisers, includ- ing chief of staff Reince Priebus and counsel Don McGahn, ducked in and out of late-night meetings in the West Wing. Several House Democrats called on Oversight Com- mittee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, to launch an investigation into Fly- nn's ties to Russia. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called for Flynn to be fired, saying he "cannot be trusted not to put Putin before America." Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said that if Pence were misled, "I can't imagine he would have trust in Gen. Flynn going forward." She said it would also be "troubling" if Flynn had been negotiating with a foreign government before taking office. It's illegal for private cit- izens to conduct U.S. diplo- macy. Flynn's conversations also raise questions about Trump's friendly posture to- ward Russia after U.S. intel- ligence agencies concluded that Moscow hacked Dem- ocratic emails during the election. The controversy comes as Trump and his top advisers seek to steady the White House after a rocky start. The president, who seeks input from a wide range of business associates, friends and colleagues, has been asking people their opin- ions on his senior team, in- cluding Spicer and Priebus. Advisers have privately conceded that the White House spit out too many disparate messages in the first few weeks, though they also note that the pres- ident's own tweets some- times muddy the day's plans before most of the White House staff has arrived for work. Trump voiced support for Priebus Monday, saying the chief of staff was doing, "not a good job, a great job." But he did not make a sim- ilar show of support for his national security adviser. Flynn sat in the front row of Trump's news conference with Canadian Prime Min- ister Justin Trudeau ear- lier Monday. The president did not receive a question about Flynn's future from the two reporters who were called upon, and he ignored journalists' shouted follow- up inquiries as he left the room. Overtheweekend,Trump told associates he was trou- bled by the situation, but did not say whether he planned to ask Flynn to step down, according to a person who spoke with him recently. Flynn was a loyal Trump supporter during the cam- paign, but he is viewed skeptically by some in the administration's national security circles, in part be- cause of his ties to Russia. In 2015, Flynn was paid to attend a gala dinner for Russia Today, a Kremlin- backed television station, and sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the event. Flynn spoke with the vice president about the matter twice on Friday, according to an administration offi- cial. The official said Pence was relying on information from Flynn when he went on television and denied that sanctions were dis- cussed with Kislyak. The administration offi- cials and those who spoke with the president recently were not authorized to dis- cuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity. The controversy sur- rounding Flynn comes as the young administra- tion grapples with a series of national security chal- lenges, including North Ko- rea's reported ballistic mis- sile launch. The president, who was joined at his Mar- a-Lago estate by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the weekend, voiced solidarity with Japan. The White House is also dealing with fallout from the rocky rollout of Trump's immigration executive or- der, which has been blocked by the courts. The order was intended to suspend the na- tion's refugee program and bar citizens of seven Mus- lim-majority countries from entering the United States. POLITICS TrumpnationalsecurityadviserFlynnresigns CAROLYNKASTER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington. Flynn resigned as President Donald Trump's national security adviser Monday. By Patrick Whittle The Associated Press PORTLAND, MAINE Plow trucks and shovelers in the Northeast attacked the re- gion's newest winter storm Mondayasfreshpowdercov- eredever-growingsnowpiles and whiteout conditions made roads unsafe, immo- bilizingmillionsofresidents. Winter storm warnings were in effect from upstate New York to Maine, where blizzardconditionsandupto 2 feet of snow were possible. At least one death has been called weather-related. In Mechanicsburg, Pennsyl- vania, a coroner said high winds took down a tree branchthatcrashedthrough a driver's windshield and led to the man's death. CumberlandCountyCoro- nerCharleyHallsaid22-year- old Shannon Lee Martin, of Loysville, died early Mon- day after going into cardiac arrest at a hospital outside Harrisburg.Authoritieswere also investigating whether injuriesinMaine,Massachu- settsandRhodeIslandcould be attributed to the weather. State officials in New HampshireandMaineurged peopletostayofftheroadsto avoid whiteout conditions; a number of crashes were re- portedfromSundaythrough early Monday. "We just want to remind people to be smart and be safe," New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said, warning residents to watch for chil- dren playing in snowbanks who might not be seen by plow truck drivers. Schoolsaroundtheregion delayed or canceled classes Monday, including in Bos- ton and in New York state, fromAlbanytoareasoutside New York City. By early afternoon Mon- day, snow totals in Maine included 20 inches in Harp- swell and 15 inches in Ken- nebunk. In New Hampshire, 14 inches had fallen in Os- sipee and a foot covered Ber- lin. Scattered power outages werereportedovernight,and the forecast of strong winds and coastal flooding was a concern Monday. Nearly all flights in and out of the airport in Man- chester, New Hampshire, were canceled. In Maine, the Portland Jetport was closed. Maine state offices were closedMonday,aseverything from the state Legislature to a public hearing about eel fishing rules was shut down. The Statehouse and court system in New Hampshire were also closed. The new snow comes on the heels of a series of other storms, including one last week that dumped 19 inches on parts of Maine. One of the big questions for residents: Where is all the snow going to go? RaychellLibby,fromPort- land,Maine,walkedthrough a path that had been cut through the snow, piled hip- high. "I really love the paths that are made afterward," she said as she chugged along and walked Logan, her 7-year-old Catahoula mix. "It's kind of like a win- ter wonderland." Boston was largely spared the large accumulations seen in New Hampshire and Maine, with the city getting about 4 inches. Still, Massa- chusetts Gov. Charlie Baker urgedresidentstoavoiddriv- ing and instead use public transportation. InnorthernNewEngland, thestormwaswelcomenews at ski areas, which last year faced some of the lowest snowfall totals in years. The ski area was forecast togetupto26inchesofsnow by the end of the day Mon- day. And in Vermont, the gov- ernor declared Monday a "Powder Day," urging winter weather enthusiasts to take advantage of all the snow. Republican Gov. Phil Scott encouraged out-of-state ski- ersandsnowmobilerstostay an extra day or two in Ver- mont and take advantage of the conditions. "And while I can't grant official pardons out-of-state, I certainly hope all will be granted a 'snow day' par- don. Visitors can feel free to telltheirboss Vermont'sgov- ernor asked them to stay," Scott said. Jonathan Braff, of Port- land, said he planned to try skiing at Western Prome- nade later Monday, but was busy clearing his driveway. WEATHER New storm wallops Northeast, where 'Stay home' is message WildWilly's Smokehouse 8570Hwy99E, Los Molinos Come see our mascot(WildWillie) SHOWROOMHOURS: WEDNESDAY THRU SUNDAY NOON TO 6PM! and new smoker/grills from Traeger & Camp Chef! (530) 200-0656 13540 Trinity Ave, Red Bluff (530) 527-8262 • (530) 528-8261 IF NO ANSWER CALL 529-7400 www.garysautobodyandtowing.com AUTO BODY REPAIR 24 HOUR TOWING WEBILLALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • ECO-FRIENDLY&DRUGFREE • COLLISION REPAIR APPROVED BY ALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • LIFETIME WARRANTY • STATE-OF-THE-ART DOWN DRAFT SPRAY BOOTH • NATIONAL AWARD WINNING RESTORATION • AUTO & RV REPAIRS "WE MEET BY ACCIDENTS" • ECO-FRIENDLY&DRUGFREE • FAST! COURTEOUS SERVICE • CLEAN AIR CONDITIONED TRUCKS • REASONABLE RATES • LOCAL & LONG DISTANCE • FORK LIFT SERVICE • ANTIQUE & LUXURY CAR TOWING • ON & OFF ROAD RECOVER • MOTOR HOMES & RV'S TOWED • AUTO & RV REPAIRS • INSURANCE WORK • 5TH WHEEL TOWING • AUTO BODY WORK Full Auto Detailing Available Free with collision repair GARY'S AUTO BODY & 24 HOUR TOWING, INC. "GOODSAM" MOTOR CLUB 235So.MainSt.,RedBluff 530 527-1657 www.thefurnituredepot.net WindermereLiftChair MON.-FRI.9-6 SAT. 9-5 • SUN. 11-5 Offering the finest in power recline/liftchairs | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017 8 A