Flynn, fired once by a president, now removed by another
WASHINGTON — Fired by one American commander in chief for insubordination, Michael Flynn has now been removed by another.
The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump asked for the resignation of his national security adviser, a hard-charging, feather-ruffling retired lieutenant general who just three weeks into the new administration had put himself in the centre of a controversy. Flynn resigned late Monday.
At issue was Flynn’s contact with Moscow’s ambassador to the United States. Flynn and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak appear to have discussed U.S. sanctions late last year, raising questions about whether he was freelancing on foreign policy while President Barack Obama was still in office and whether he misled Trump officials about the calls.
The centre of a storm is a familiar place for Flynn. His military career ended when Obama dismissed him as defence intelligence chief. Flynn claimed he was pushed out for holding tougher views than the Obama administration about Islamic extremism. But a former senior U.S. official who worked with Flynn said the firing was for insubordination, after the Army lieutenant general failed to follow guidance from superiors.