White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday said it shouldn't "come as a surprise" that former President Barack Obama was not a fan of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had been a vocal critic of Obama's policies while working for him, the Washington Examiner reported.
Reports surfaced on Monday that during a 90-minute Oval Office meeting shortly after the election, Obama warned Trump about Flynn, according to NBC, citing White House officials.
One official said he thought Obama's statement had been made in jest.
"It's true that . . . President Obama made it known that he wasn't exactly a fan of Gen. Flynn's, which . . . frankly shouldn't come as a surprise given that Gen. Flynn had worked for President Obama, was an outspoken critic of President Obama's shortcomings, specifically as it related to his lack of strategy confronting ISIS and other threats," Spicer said.
"I don't think that should have come as a surprise, considering the role that Gen. Flynn played in (Trump's) campaign," he added.
Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, resigned as Trump's national security adviser in February shortly after accepting the position. He was accused of speaking with Russian officials before Trump's inauguration and misleading White House officials about the conversations.
He also did not disclose until a month after leaving the position that he had been paid by Russian news agency RT, two Russian firms, and had lobbied on behalf of the Turkish government.
In tweets Monday morning, Trump questioned Obama's vetting process and suggested lawmakers question former acting Attorney General Sally Yates how information about Flynn later appeared in the media.
Yates is set to testify Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the issue. Spicer said the focus should be on why Obama did not suspend Flynn's security clearance, given the fees he earned from other countries.
"The question that you have to ask yourself was, if President Obama was truly concerned about Gen. Flynn, why didn't he suspend Gen. Flynn's security clearance, which they had just reapproved much earlier?" he asked.
"Additionally, why did the Obama administration let Flynn go to Russia and do a speaking engagement and receive a fee?" he asked.
As a retired military officer, Flynn should have made lawmakers aware before accepting fees for overseas speaking engagements and asked permission before lobbying for another government. Members of the House Oversight Committee said he apparently failed to do either.
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