On the Road to Another Watergate?
By TIM WEINER FEB. 15, 2017
Michael Flynn’s sudden resignation from the National Security Council may seem unprecedented. It’s not. But the consequences of his conduct may lead the United States into uncharted waters.
Two of President Ronald Reagan’s national security counselors, Robert McFarlane and John Poindexter, left in disgrace. They were schemers in the secret sale of arms to Iran and the skimming of profits for rebel forces in Central America, violating American foreign policy and common sense.
Nor were Mr. Flynn’s now notorious private conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak an unheard-of event. The most famous national security adviser of all, Henry Kissinger, met a K.G.B. spy at the Soviet Embassy in Washington 18 days before Richard Nixon’s inauguration in 1969. The Kremlin wanted “open channels of communication,” he told the president-elect. Nixon, at his swearing-in, addressed Moscow thus: “Our lines of communication will be open.”
Here the stories diverge. Say what you will about Mr. Kissinger and his less illustrious successors, they were only following orders. In Mr. Flynn’s case, though, these questions arise: Has he been working with a Russian script? He has a reputation for straying off the reservation — how far did he stray?
Two men have the power and the will to compel his testimony under oath. One is Senator John McCain, a Cold Warrior who dislikes the idea of cozying up to the Kremlin and is preparing for hearings on Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Flynn should expect a subpoena any day now.
more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/opinion/on-the-road-to-another-watergate.html?emc=edit_th_20170216&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=57435284