NYT: Flynn Was Briefed On CIA Secrets For Weeks Despite Blackmail Concerns

President Donald Trump Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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The head of the CIA continued to brief Michael Flynn on the nation’s most sensitive intelligence information until he was ousted as national security adviser, despite concerns from top government agencies, including the CIA itself, that Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail, according to a New York Times report out Tuesday.

Trump administration officials were warned days after inauguration that Flynn was under federal investigation and had mislead White House officials about his contacts with Russian operatives. Yet Flynn still sat in on near-daily presidential briefings from CIA Director Mike Pompeo throughout his tenure in the White House, according to the Times.

While career officials at the CIA, Justice Department, FBI, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence reportedly expressed grave concerns about Flynn, Pompeo declined under oath to say if he was aware of those concerns.

“I can’t answer yes or no,” he testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last month. “I regret that I’m unable to do so.”

One administration official who spoke to the Times said that if Pompeo was aware of Flynn’s compromised situation, he never shared any concerns about it with the President.

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