Mike Pence Told About Flynn Warning Two Weeks After Trump, White House

[TomCADem]

Source: NBC News

The White House kept Vice President Pence in the dark for weeks about the warning it had gotten about national security adviser MichaelFlynn from the Justice Department, Pence's press secretary, Marc Lotter, said Tuesday.

Pence did not find out until Feb. 9. Trump was first informed about the Justice Department's concerns regarding Flynn on Jan. 26, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at Tuesday's daily press briefing.

Flynn's actions as President Donald Trump's short-lived national security adviser are under scrutiny after he resigned Monday night over phone calls he shared with Russia's ambassador to the United States in December — before Trump took office. Among the topics discussed included U.S. sanctions imposed by the Obama administration against Moscow for its alleged role in the 2016 presidential election.

The date the vice president knew is significant because it is when the administration became aware that the Washington Post was about to publish a heavily-sourced story that confirmed Flynn and the Russian ambassador discussed sanctions, despite public denials from Flynn and other incoming senior administration officials including Pence, then the vice president-elect.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/mike-pence-told-about-flynn-warning-11-days-after-trump-n720836

---

This next set of leaks is interesting because it appears designed to wall off and protect Mike Pence. Notably, this latest set of leaks matches the talking points being made by establishment Republicans to insulate Pence from Trump's Russian scandal even though Pence himself chose to vouch for Flynn during the WaPo interview.

In other words, the establishment Republicans are trying to set-up the overthrow of King Trump by keeping Pence isolated from any fall out before initiating any type of investigation. Of course, what would really be interesting is if the Bannon partisans begin leaking that Pence actually knew that Flynn was discussing sanctions with Russians, but stayed quiet. This would then force Congressional Republicans to defend Trump/Pence even more, rather than trying to thread the needle by defending Pence but leaving the door open to an investigation of Trump.

[gwheezie]

1. Why do we believe this?

Pence has his own connections & gets Intel briefings. I don't believe he didn't know. Trump & pence let flynn lie until Flynn got caught.

[LibraLiz1973]

2. I don't believe it for a second.

I think they're trying to save pence because they know Trump is DONE.

[starshine00]

8. I am sure it was their plan all along

He's the perfect candidate for them. They think, anyway. Wow. They got that cabinet stacked and pulled the plug on Trump already.

[Mad-in-Mo]

34. Exactly.

They want Pence to seem "innocent" so he can be saved when Drumpf falls.

[TomCADem]

6. Congressional Republicans Have Been Volunteering That Pence Was Innocent...

...all morning, and now this set of Pro-Pence "leaks" come out. It is pretty clear that Ryan/McConnell/Priebus are doing all this to create an exit strategy for Republicans with respect to Trump by allowing them to either impeach Trump or force him to resign.

In the meantime, expect Pence to go through the motions of being a loyal foot soldier by agreeing to lead a task force on investigating Trump's voter fraud claims. Put another way, I expect Pence to go out his way to show he is loyal in order to prevent any backlash from Trump voters when Ryan/McConnell/Priebus make their move to try to force Trump to resign. The carrot they will offer is that if Trump resigns, Pence will pardon him.

Of course, it gets messy if Breitbart starts counter-programming this establishment spin by running stories suggesting that Pence knew all along about Russian influence, but just kept his mouth shut. Indeed, Pence has happily carried Trump's water in denying the influence of Russia on the election:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/15/mike-pence-trump-campaign-russia

Vice-President-elect Mike Pence denied on Sunday that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign had any contacts with Russia, insisting investigations into Russian hacking of political parties are “a distraction”.

Since the election, US intelligence agencies have publicly concluded that the Kremlin orchestrated a series of hacks intended to create chaos, defeat Hillary Clinton and help Trump win the White House.

After weeks of doubting such opinions, Trump this week said: “I think it was Russia.” But he did not answer questions about alleged contacts between advisers and powerful Russians.

On Sunday, Pence denied there were any such contacts, telling Fox News Sunday: “Of course not. Why would there be any contacts between the campaign?”

[starshine00]

9. so what happens if Bannon et al make Pence look as guilty as Trump?

what happens if somehow that does turn out to be the case (and the public is allowed to know) what then? Do BOTH of them resign? Who runs the country then? The only reason I can think of for Pence wanting anything to do with Putin is to fulfill the part in revelations where it says 'the big bear will come out of the east' or whatever, you know how evangelicals want the earth destroyed to prove this is the end times...it would suit his agenda, anyway

[TomCADem]

11. It Could Force Republicans to Either Circle Wagons with Trump or Impeach Trump...

...I am sure there is some brinksmanship going on. The establishment Republican faction is probably threatening that if Pence is taken down, then they will have no choice but to pursue impeachment and jail time for Trump. They will probably tell Trump that keeping Pence clean is in Trump's interest, because this leaves the door open for Pence to pardon Trump "for the good of the country."

Of course, Trump/Bannon can call their bluff and leak how Pence had actual knowledge of the various contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign, which blows up the idea of President Pence as a viable option. This would then force Republicans to circle the wagons around Trump or to accelerate plans to impeach him, since this also pretty much admits contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

The issue, of course, is how long can Trump stay quiet about the fact that he is being set up by Pence and the Congressional Republicans.

[starshine00]

17. thanks, it is going to be interesting to watch

Trumps ego is going to preclude him from making any of the right decisions for self-preservation I think. It could get very ugly.

[TomCADem]

19. I Can See the Republican Establishment Threatening to Go After Trump's Family...

...and assets unless Trump agrees to resign. The only out for Trump is that he gets to continue to blame Democrats and the media with their full blessing.

[starshine00]

21. if he resigns no one will pay him any attention again

except for the extra super wacked deplorables who are lost causes anyway.

[TomCADem]

25. Republicans Will Allow Him To Continue to Attack the Press and Democrats...

...and blame them for his downfall.

[3catwoman3]

26. It is already...

...ugly.

[starshine00]

27. wow I just saw this the rt wing press is in on it already

the minions have already gotten their marching orders

[TrollBuster9090]

7. We DON'T believe this. (Remember George H.W. Bush's "I wasn't in the loop" over Iran/Contra?

Vice Presidents are kept in the loop. But we're often TOLD that they're not in the loop, and are kept in the dark, in case the shit hits the fan, and the President gets smeared by a scandal. The goal is to keep the VP's image squeaky clean, so that he can replace the President, and continue with the same political agenda.

George HW Bush claimed "I wasn't in the loop" about the Iran/Contra scandal that hit at the end of the Reagan Administration, so that he didn't have to run on that scandal.

This is the same thing, except that everybody, including Pence and the GOP, is expecting the Trump Administration to end a lot sooner. The GOP is going to use Trump to pass as much of their agenda as possible, and the, just when he's most unpopular they're going to kick him to the curb. Impeach him over the 'scandal du jour', let him take all the bad feelings about repealed Obamacare, privatized Medicare, and gutted Social Security with him; and then replace him with a squeaky clean Mike Pence.

[tblue37]

28. Here is how I think of Pence, Priebus, Flynn, Bannon, Conway, Spicer, Kushner/Ivanka, and Trump:

Pence, Rience, Tense, Intense, Pretense, Dense, Wince, and No-Sense.

[Tanuki]

3. This (the lengthy delay in informing Pence) is so implausible

that I don't know whether to be more offended by being lied to yet again by the same bunch of crooks, or the egregiousness of being assumed to be so stupid as to fall for a cock and bull story so patently false that a baby could see through it.

[Big Blue Marble]

4. I agree,

they are building a firewall around Prince Pence, the Lord-in-Waiting.

[mobeau69]

5. That dog won't hunt.

Anyone who thinks I "like" Mike was in the dark for two weeks is either a moron, a cult member or both. Hell, Mike was probably in the office when they told the dumbass.

And why would the POTUS not take action until the story broke in the press?

Can you spell "COVERUP?"

Trump and Pence are both toast.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

10. They're consistent about one thing...lying. nt

[TomCADem]

14. True. The White House Kept Pence In The Dark?

Did Pence himself leak that? Amazing.

[Corgigal]

12. Pence is just trying to save

Whatever career he thinks he has, he's next and may or may not know it.

[TomCADem]

15. No. They Are Trying to Force Trump to Resign, Then Pence Will Pardon...

...Trump for the good of the country, so that everyone can move forward.

[Corgigal]

16. Not to my thinking

They want to keep Pence, always a part of the deal. They are going to throw away Trump to keep Pence. Depends on what our spookys have on him.

No one wanted, anyone who had a thinking brain, Vice President for a reason...

[patphil]

13. Pence had to know sooner

The talk about Trump working with the Russians goes back several months. My wife and I read about it in September...5 months ago. I don't see any way Pence could not be aware of all that was going on between the Trump campaign and Russia prior to the election. He may not have been told about that specific phone call, but the over all picture had to be clear to him well before the election. Unless, he is not very bright, not at all curious, and was totally unconcerned about being implicated in possible treasonous activity.

[MGKrebs]

29. "Unless, he is not very bright, not at all curious"

This is quite possible!

[gopiscrap]

35. welcome to DU

[Trust Buster]

18. The timeline is so damn convenient

[bpositive]

20. Bullshit

[kimbutgar]

22. Trying to protect Pence.

He knew he knew during the election Russia was helping chump. He is just as guilty. He is also has lying eyes.

[Crash2Parties]

23. If that's what the WH says, it's likely the other way 'round...mighty convenient, the timing on that

[Blue Idaho]

24. Pence is as dirty as Trump.

They both need to spend a few years in the crowbar hotel.

[mjvpi]

30. Pence wore the big boy pants!

I went back and looked at all of the articles I could find about the transition and Trump was noticeably absent from daily security briefings etc. It was Pence who was running the show. Trump's team was selling the office of Vice President as having all of the power when they were recruiting for the job. So now we're supposed to believe he wasn't in the loop? Bullshit!

[MBS]

32. my thoughts, too. n/t

[MBS]

31. YES! Thank you! I agree completely with your interpretation

I agree that - through deliberately walling off Pence from info, OR - more likely (tin-foil hat firmly in place)- through deliberate release of misinformation that CLAIMS that Pence knew nothing - The Powers that Be are trying to protect Pence so that he will be "clean" when he is elevated to president.

I had hesitated to post those thoughts because they seemed too paranoid, so I'm glad to know that I'm not alone.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

33. Who knew what and when is pure conjecture beyond the Justice Dept warning.

There are serious questions concerning who initially encouraged Flynn to establish a dialog with the Ruskies???