
General Michael Flynn has resigned as Donald Trump’s national security adviser after weeks of speculation over his links to Russia turned into days of reporting on the contents of his calls with the Russian ambassador and a day of intense pressure over whether the president could continue to back his pick.
The resignation came late at night, at around 11pm Washington DC, after further news reports revealed that the White House had been warned last month by then acting attorney general Sally Yates – before she was fired for advising justice department lawyers that the travel ban was “not lawful” – that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail.
Transcripts of intercepted calls between Flynn and Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyev, as described by US officials to various news outlets, showed the two had discussed sanctions ahead of Trump’s inauguration, when Flynn was part of the transition team but not in post as national security adviser.