Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Top GOP investigators on the Hill say they won’t investigate Michael Flynn

House Republicans are not eager to investigate Michael Flynn.

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz said his committee will not investigate Flynn’s contact with the Russian government, or the extent of his communications with White House officials.

The former national security adviser resigned Monday over a scandal stemming from a call with the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in which Flynn talked about sanctions before Donald Trump took office.

Related

“It’s taking care of itself,” Chaffetz told reporters Tuesday, according to Politico’s Kyle Cheney, adding that further investigation would be up to the House Intelligence Committee.

But Republican House Intelligence Committee Chair David Nunes said Tuesday that his committee won’t look into conversations between Trump and Flynn, according to CNN’s Manu Raju. Nunes cited executive privilege — a privilege typically claimed by the president for withholding information in the public interest.

Instead, Nunes said he is most concerned that the FBI was recording Flynn’s call with the Russian envoy — which was then leaked to press.

“I expect for the FBI to tell me what is going on, and they better have a good answer,” Nunes told the Washington Post, in line with Trump’s response to Flynn’s resignation. “The big problem I see here is that you have an American citizen who had his phone calls recorded.”

Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that the “real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington.”

Flynn resigned late Monday amid scandal over the call with the Russian ambassador, which he made the same day President Barack Obama’s administration placed new sanctions on Moscow. The sanctions were punishment for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. The White House has been giving a lot of mixed messages about just how much Trump and top officials knew about the call.

A series of leaks revealed Flynn had lied to top White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the extent of his conversations with the Russian envoy — and that he had discussed the sanctions. On Monday, the Washington Post again reported that the Justice Department had informed the White House of the dangers of Flynn’s ties with Russia in January. But last week, Trump told reporters he had not heard of any such report.


Watch: Michael Flynn resigns

More in Politics

The Logoff
Trump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictionsTrump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictions
The Logoff

How the Trump administration is still trying to rewrite January 6 history.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Donald Trump messed with the wrong popeDonald Trump messed with the wrong pope
Politics

Trump fought with Pope Francis before. He’s finding Pope Leo XIV to be a tougher foil.

By Christian Paz
Podcasts
A cautionary tale about tax cutsA cautionary tale about tax cuts
Podcast
Podcasts

California cut property taxes in the 1970s. It didn’t go so well.

By Miles Bryan and Noel King
Podcasts
Obama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwupsObama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwups
Podcast
Podcasts

Wendy Sherman helped Obama reach a deal with Iran. Here’s what she thinks Trump is doing wrong.

By Kelli Wessinger and Noel King
Politics
The Supreme Court could legalize moonshine, and ruin everything elseThe Supreme Court could legalize moonshine, and ruin everything else
Politics

McNutt v. DOJ could allow the justices to seize tremendous power over the US economy.

By Ian Millhiser
The Logoff
The new Hormuz blockade, briefly explainedThe new Hormuz blockade, briefly explained
The Logoff

Trump tries Iran’s playbook.

By Cameron Peters