For example, just how much classified information got to Russian officials through General Flynn this last month? If he lied to the Vice President, who else has he been lying to?
Russia: The problem Trump can't escape
Behind the scenes: Flynn revelations scramble White House
Story highlights
- Trump's day began with a diplomatic success
- It wasn't until later in the day that signs of trouble emerged
Washington (CNN)The first major shakeup of his top-level staff looming, President Donald Trump sought some positive affirmation.
Walking
from the Oval Office past his personal assistants and into the West
Wing hallways, Trump, spotted by reporters, stopped in front of a
blown-up photograph hanging outside his press secretary's office.
"Look
at this," he exclaimed at an image of his inauguration, taken from the
Capitol and showing crowds appearing to stretch far into the distance.
"Where did all these people come from?"
It
was just after 5 p.m. ET Monday. For Trump, a day that began with a
diplomatic success was quickly becoming overwhelmed with the sour
realization that one of his most loyal advisers would soon have to go,
less than a month after Trump was sworn in.
Spicer: Trump concluded there was no trust 05:29
Michael
Flynn, aides say, had lost Trump's confidence after he misled Vice
President Mike Pence about a December phone call with the Russian
ambassador. The situation, Trump felt, was unsustainable. Other top
advisers, including chief strategist Steve Bannon, were already putting
Flynn's resignation into motion.e
The
drumbeat of questions and allegations was impossible for Trump to
ignore much longer. Instead of an irksome sticking point with the press,
the size of his inauguration crowds now seemed like a place of solace.
"Look at this picture," Trump sighed. "That's amazing."
The
moment of nostalgia for the first minutes of his presidency didn't last
long. As a group of reporters standing nearby began peppering Trump
with questions about his embattled national security adviser, Trump
turned away, walking toward his private residence and leaving his
spokesman Sean Spicer behind to explain Flynn's status.
Graham vows fight to last breath for sanctions 01:58
Earlier
Monday, there was ample reason to believe that all was well between
Trump and Flynn, who was participating fully in the White House's
foreign policy meetings. He conducted the President's daily intelligence
briefing, prepared Trump for phone calls with the leaders of Nigeria
and South Africa, and sat in talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau, part of which centered on refugee policy.
Until
Monday, the White House expressed only faith in Flynn, a retired
general who caused deep consternation among career National Security
Council staff during his brief tenure.
It
wasn't until late in the day, after Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway
told MSNBC that Trump had "full confidence" in Flynn, that signs of
trouble emerged.
Reports came to
light that Justice Department officials had warned the White House last
month that Flynn could potentially be blackmailed by Russia.
Spicer,
appearing in a West Wing hallway after the President brushed off the
questions about Flynn, said that Trump was "evaluating the situation"
with input from Pence.
Spicer was
reading from a statement he had just composed in the Oval Office with
Trump and chief of staff Reince Priebus, whose own standing in the
administration recently emerged as a subject of speculation.
As
descriptions of Flynn's standing evolved, Conway darted into Spicer's
office, leaving a few moments later. Just before 6 p.m. ET, the press
secretary told reporters that Trump wanted to make known he was
assessing Flynn's actions.
"That is
the statement the President wanted to express," Spicer said, ending any
incertitude about whether Flynn was still in good standing.
The
evaluation, it turned out, didn't require long. Seen in the Oval Office
for a final time just before Trump swore in his Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin at 8 p.m., Flynn handed over his resignation letter to
Trump shortly after the President requested he step down.
"Unfortunately,
because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the vice
president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my
phone calls with the Russian ambassador," Flynn wrote in the letter,
which was made public at 11 p.m. ET. "I have sincerely apologized to the
President and the vice president, and they have accepted my apology."
For
Trump, a stalwart believer in loyalty who's been taking advice from
Flynn for the better part of two years, it was an unpleasant and early
entry into the world of West Wing reshuffles.
White House officials said Tuesday the decision was necessary.
"The
issue, pure and simple, came down to a matter of trust, and the
President concluded that he no longer had the trust of his national
security adviser," Spicer said. "The President decided to ask for his
resignation and he got it."
But
even for a man who's public image has been lassoed to the act of
terminating employees, the first high-profile sacking left a bad taste.
"Outside of 'Apprentice,' Trump does not relish firing people," one administration official said.
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