WASHINGTON: An Obama administration official who warned the Trump White House about contacts between one of its key advisers and Russia is set to speak publicly today for the first time about the concerns she raised.
Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates is testifying before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The highly anticipated hearing it is Yates's first appearance on Capitol Hill since her firing in January is expected to fill in basic details in the chain of events that led to the ouster of Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, in the early weeks of the administration.
The February resignation followed media reports that Flynn had discussed US-imposed sanctions on Russia with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition period, which was contrary to the public representations of the White House.
Trump moved to distance himself from his former adviser's troubles today, tweeting that it was the Obama administration that gave Flynn "the highest security clearance" when he worked at the Pentagon. Trump made no mention of the fact that
Flynn was fired by the Obama administration in 2014. In a second tweet, Trump said Yates should be asked under oath "if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers" soon after she raised concerns about Flynn with White House counsel Don McGahn on January 26.
Yates is expected to testify that she warned McGahn that Flynn's contacts and the discrepancies between what the White House said happened on the calls and what actually occurred had left him in a compromised position, according to a person familiar with her expected statements. The person was not authorised to discuss the testimony by name and requested anonymity.
White House officials have said publicly that Yates merely wanted to give them a "heads-up" about Flynn's Russian contacts, but Yates is likely to testify that she expressed alarm to the White House about the incidents, according to the person.
Trump has said he has no ties to Russia and isn't aware of any involvement by his aides in Moscow's interference in the election. He's dismissed FBI and congressional investigations into his campaign's possible ties to the election meddling as a "hoax" driven by Democrats bitter over losing the White House. He's also accused Obama officials of illegally leaking classified information about Flynn's contacts with Kislyak.
Also scheduled to testify is former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, who attracted attention for a March television interview in which he said that he had seen no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia at the time he left government in January. Republicans have seized on that statement as vindication for the Trump campaign, but investigations are ongoing.
The Associated Press meanwhile reported last week that one sign taken as a warning by Obama administration officials about Flynn's contacts with Kislyak was a request by a member of Trump's own transition team made to national security officials in the Obama White House for the classified CIA profile of Kislyak.
The revelation came after interviews with a host of former US officials, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive national security information.