Michael Flynn is a "scapegoat," contends talk radio host Michael Savage in the wake of the outspoken national security adviser's resignation.
"The old world order wants perennial friction with Russia," Savage told WND ahead of his nationally syndicated radio show Tuesday, "The Savage Nation."
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Flynn resigned late Monday after reports he had given Vice President Mike Pence “incomplete information” about his discussions in late December with the Russian ambassador to the United States regarding sanctions.
Pence, based on information from Flynn, had told media Flynn did not discuss sanctions with the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak.
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Savage noted that President Obama was caught on a hot mic telling outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Vladimir Putin should give him more "space" because Obama would have more "flexibility" to work with Russia after his re-election in 2012.
"Was there an outcry by the Lilliputians in the media then?" Savage asked.
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"I see the demonization of Putin, Russia and Flynn as part of a campaign by neocons, the intel community and Democrats who want constant antagonism with Russia," he said.
"It's like firemen who start fires to justify their jobs."
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President Trump, after accepting Flynn’s resignation, tweeted Tuesday morning: “The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington?”
Flynn affirmed that thinking Tuesday morning when he was asked by Fox News whether the leaks were targeted, coordinated and possibly a violation of the law.
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“Yes, yes and yes,” Flynn said.
Stream of leaks
FBI agents wrote a secret report, based on intercepts, summarizing Flynn’s discussions with Kislyak. Former acting attorney general Sally Yates concluded Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail and suspected he could be in violation of the Logan Act, which bars U.S. citizens from interfering in diplomatic disputes with a foreign nation, the Washington Post reported.
Hours before his resignation, Flynn insisted in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group that he “crossed no lines” in his discussion with the ambassador.
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His main concern, he said, was the steady stream of leaks to reporters based on classified information.
“In some of these cases, you’re talking about stuff that’s taken off of a classified system and given to a reporter. That’s a crime,” he told the Daily Caller.
Flynn is a retired Army lieutenant general who served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency before becoming President Donald Trump's national security adviser on Inauguration Day.
He was a strong critic of President Obama's foreign policy, including his "politically correct" approach to the Islamic terror threat.
"We are tired of Obama's empty speeches and his misguided rhetoric. This has caused the world to have no respect for America's word, nor does it fear our might," Flynn said in his keynote speech at the Republican National Convention in July.
'Moving too fast'
Savage, a major supporter of Trump during his campaign, already has expressed concern that Trump's inner circle is causing him to move too fast, leading to costly mistakes.
"I think Trump is in danger unless he wakes up to the fact that those around him may not be acting, let us say, in his best interest," Savage told his listeners.
Savage said Trump is "moving much too fast and on the wrong issues."
"He should have started with something less controversial than he did, and he should have gone a little slower," said Savage.
Savage's message of borders, language and culture was a fixture in the campaign, and Trump was a frequent guest on Savage's show. Savage has described his latest book, "Scorched Earth: Restoring the Country After Obama," as "an architectural plan for Trump."
He is about to release a book on the new president, "Trump's War: His Battle for America."