Yates warned Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia

Yates warned Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia
By Katie Bo Williams - 05-08-17 15:39 PM EDT

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned the White House that former national security adviser Michael Flynn created a "compromise situation" and could have been "blackmailed," she said Monday.

"We weren't the only ones that knew all of this," Yates said Monday, referring to the revelation that Flynn misled Vice President Pence about the true content of a December call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. "The Russians also knew about what General Flynn had done. The Russians also knew that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others."

"This was a problem because not only do we believe that the Russians knew this, but that they likely had proof of this information - and that created a compromise situation, where the national security advisor essentially could be blackmailed by the Russians," she said.

While the Justice Department's concerns about Flynn have previously been reported, this is the first time Yates has discussed the concerns in public.

She did so at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing that received wall-to-wall coverage on cable news.

Her basic message: The Justice Department was worried that President Trump's national security adviser could be blackmailed by Russia.

Read more from The Hill: 

Live coverage: Sally Yates testifies before Senate Judiciary panel