The Report: Part IX: Honest Loyalty

October 2, 2019 9:07 AM

It's January 26, 2017. Sally Yates is the acting Attorney General; she's leading the Justice Department until Jeff Sessions is confirmed by the Senate. Yates has just learned some alarming news. The new National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has lied to FBI agents. He's told them that he hadn't discussed sanctions in a call with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. But he had. And it looks like Flynn has lied to the vice president about it as well. Yates calls White House Counsel Don McGahn. She says they have to meet right away. Yates knows that the FBI has the tape to prove Flynn lied, which is a crime, but right now there's an even bigger problem: the Russians probably have the tape too.

In this episode, we tell two interrelated stories. The first deals with National Security Adviser Flynn’s lie to federal investigators about his phone call with the Russian ambassador and the White House response to being notified about the interview. The second deals with how the president’s turbulent relationship with Comey led to a fateful Oval Office encounter after acting Attorney General Sally Yates informed White House lawyers of Flynn’s misdeeds.

posted by General Malaise (1 comment total)

Whereas last week's episode dealt mostly with just the legal definition and basis of obstruction of justice, this one lays out the case with regards to Michael Flynn's actions. As such, while last week's was a good standalone episode for the most part, this one assumes the listener knows the facts laid out in episodes 3 and 4.

Also, I think this is the first we've heard about James Comey in this series, but I'm not sure.
posted by General Malaise at 9:09 AM on October 2, 2019