Obama Knew Details From Wiretapped Flynn Phone Calls, Surprising Top DOJ Official: Documents

Outgoing President Barack Obama revealed in early 2017 that he knew details from phone calls incoming Trump administration National Security Advisor Michael Flynn made, surprising one of the the Department of Justice’s top officials, according to newly released documents.

The department on Thursday moved to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn that rested on the phone calls.

Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general at the time, recalled meeting with Obama at the White House on Jan. 5, 2017, along with a number of other officials, including then-FBI Director James Comey.

After dismissing everyone but Yates, Comey, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and then-Vice President Joe Biden, Obama told them he had “learned of the information about Flynn” and the lieutenant general’s discussion with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Obama told the trio he didn’t want additional information about the matter but wanted to know whether the White House should, in light of the information, treat Flynn differently.