The Justice Department warned the White House weeks ago that national security adviser Michael Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail for contacts with Russian officials before President Donald Trump took power, a US official said on Monday.
Mr Trump is evaluating the situation surrounding Mr Flynn and talking to Vice President Mike Pence about it, Mr Trump's spokesman said, in a pointed refusal to make a public show of support for his embattled aide.
The US official confirmed a Washington Post report that Sally Yates, the then-acting US attorney general, told the White House late last month that she believed Mr Flynn had misled them about the nature of his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
Mr Flynn had told Mr Pence he had not discussed US sanctions against Russia with Russian officials in the weeks before Mr Trump took office on January 20, prompting Mr Pence to defend him in subsequent television interviews.
Officials said Mr Flynn apologized to Mr Pence twice, including in person on Friday.
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