Donald Trump is “evaluating” allegations against a senior aide accused of lying over secret communications with Russia, the White House has said.
Leading Democrats are calling for Michael Flynn, the national security adviser, to be fired over claims that he misled vice-president Mike Pence. Questioned by reporters on Monday afternoon, Trump declined to answer directly, telling them: “We just put out a statement.”
The statement, then delivered by press secretary Sean Spicer, said: “The president is evaluating the situation. He is speaking to vice-president Pence relative to the conversation he had with General Flynn and also speaking to various other people about what he considers the single most important subject there is: our national security.”
But the noncommittal update appeared to conflict with remarks given just moments earlier by White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. “General Flynn has the full confidence of the president,” she told reporters.
Asked if Flynn had apologised to Pence, Conway replied: “I don’t know if that’s true. I just know that they talked twice on Friday.”
The confusion was seized on by observers including David Axelrod, former strategist for Barack Obama. “Judging from WH statements this afternoon, @POTUS either has “full confidence in Flynn” or he is “evaluating the situation.” Is that clear?” he tweeted.
Earlier, Trump sidestepped questions over the issue during a brief press conference with his Canadian counterpart. Standing beside Justin Trudeau, the president took only two questions from American media: the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group, which reportedly struck a deal for better coverage with his election campaign last year, and the rightwing website the Daily Caller.
Neither asked about the controversy swirling around Flynn, a fierce champion of Trump during the election campaign. White House officials have been reviewing the former general’s contacts with Russia before Trump took office and whether he discussed the possibility of lifting US sanctions on the country. This could potentially be in violation of a law banning private citizens from engaging in foreign policy.
Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, had initially denied discussing sanctions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition. Pence went before TV cameras to repeat the denial and defend Flynn.
But last week, when reports suggested that sanctions may indeed have been discussed, Flynn conceded that he could not remember with 100% certainty. Pence is said to be troubled by the possibility that he was misled. Flynn has apologised to Pence and others over the incident, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The controversy comes as the White House deals with national security problems including North Korea’s reported ballistic missile launch, new tensions with Iran and a military raid in Yemen that did not go to plan. But the national security council is alleged to be in disarray as it adapts to Trump’s inexperience and Twitter habit.
Trump made reference to North Korea during Monday’s press conference, promising: “We will deal with that very strongly.”
The president spent the weekend at his private club in Florida with Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe, where questions were raised over his handling of classified information after social media posts showed him and Abe sitting with aides in a public dining room at the Mar-a-Lago estate following North Korea’s missile test.
Democrats, eager to probe Trump’s alleged links to Russia, which intelligence agencies concluded worked to damage his election rival Hillary Clinton, have called for Flynn’s dismissal. Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, said on Monday: “Michael Flynn’s conduct was alarming enough before his secret communications with the Russians were exposed. Now, we have a national security adviser who cannot be trusted not to put Putin before America ... National security demands that General Flynn be fired immediately.”
Flynn could be the first major casualty of fledgling administration but others may soon follow. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and press secretary Sean Spicer are also subjects of whispering campaigns less than a month after Trump moved into the Oval Office.
Politico reported that Trump has told several people that he is “particularly displeased” with Flynn and has “occasionally expressed unhappiness” to Spicer about his handling of the daily press briefing. Spicer has made false claims, displayed a short temper and become a subject of ridicule on the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live.
Priebus could also be in jeopardy after being the subject of some very public criticism, especially over the chaotic implementation of an executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Chris Ruddy, chief executive of the conservative media organisation Newsmax and a Trump confidante, hinted that Trump might remove him, the New York Times reported. “He doesn’t waste a lot of time,” Ruddy said of Trump. “If he thinks somebody is not performing, he moves pretty quickly.”
In a separate interview with the Washington Post, Ruddy said: “It’s my view that Reince is the problem. I think on paper Reince looked good as the chief of staff – and Donald trusted him – but it’s pretty clear the guy is in way over his head.
“He’s not knowledgeable of how federal agencies work, how the communications operations work. He botched this whole immigration rollout. This should’ve been a win for Donald, not two or three weeks of negative publicity.’”
By contrast, Stephen Miller, 31, senior policy adviser, is seemingly in the ascendent after being singled out for praise by the president on Twitter after aggressive TV performances on Sunday.
“We have a judiciary that has taken far too much power and become in many cases a supreme branch of government,” he told CBS’s Face the Nation. “Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.”
The comments appalled governance watchdogs and Democrats. Chris Coons, a senator for Delaware, said of Miller: “That is a simply stunning statement. The idea that a senior adviser to the president would go on camera and say the president’s authority will not be questioned shows both a striking lack of understanding of the structure of our government, and a complete lack of respect for judicial independence.”
But in sharp contrast to his silence over Flynn, Trump tweeted in praise of Miller: “Congratulations Stephen Miller- on representing me this morning on the various Sunday morning shows. Great job!”
Despite a recent series of missteps, Conway is thought to be safe, and potentially even a contender to replace Priebus as chief of staff.
More than half of Trump’s cabinet could be in place by the end of this week. His pick for treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, was on course for confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate on Monday evening. But his nominee for labour secretary, food chief executive Andrew Puzder, could face stiff opposition on Thursday.
