The White House repeatedly reminded reporters Thursday that the Obama administration is responsible for issuing Mike Flynn his security clearance.
It was revealed this week that Donald Trump’s former national security adviser may have broken laws when he failed to disclose payments on his security clearance form that he received from the media organization Russia Today, which is considered to be an arm of the Russian government. Press secretary Sean Spicer was asked if Flynn would still be working in the White House — in light of the recent revelations — had he not misled Vice President Mike Pence on his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
“I will just say I think the president made the right call at the right time,” Spicer said. “It’s clearly paid off.”
Spicer reiterated that Flynn received his security clearance under the Obama administration and said the Trump administration did not review his clearance when they took office.
“Gen. Flynn was a career military officer who maintained a high level security clearance throughout his career in the military,” he said. “His clearance was last re-issued by the Obama administration in 2016 with full knowledge of his activities that occurred in 2015.”
“I’m just making sure people understand process and how it works. You fill out a form, there’s an investigation, you are re-investigated every five years…”
Sean Spicer blames the Obama White House for Michael Flynn's security clearance https://t.co/SqcpG0Ig1E
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 27, 2017
When asked if the president maintains his belief that Flynn should seek immunity, Spicer said he did not know.