Trump was told in January that Flynn misled Pence, WH says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was told in late January his top national security aide had misled his vice president, three weeks before Trump ousted adviser Michael Flynn amid a swirling public controversy over Flynn's contacts with a Russian official, a White House spokesman said today.

Press secretary Sean Spicer said Flynn's firing on Monday was prompted by a gradual "erosion of that trust" and not any concern about the legality of the retired general's calls with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. Spicer said the president withheld judgment on Flynn until after the White House counsel's office conducted a review of the legal issues raised by the calls.

Flynn's ouster appeared to be driven by more public attention and by the idea that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials than by the content of his discussions. Still, the matter deepened questions about Trump's friendly posture toward Russia.

"This was an act of trust – whether or not he misled the vice president was the issue and that was ultimately what led to the president asking for and accepting the resignation of Gen. Flynn," Spicer said.

Flynn's resignation came after reports the Justice Department had alerted the White House weeks ago there were contradictions between Trump officials' public accounting of the Russia contacts and what intelligence officials knew to be true based on routine recordings of communications with foreign officials who are in the U.S.

Spicer said White House counsel's office reviewed the situation after it was flagged by the Department of Justice, and along with the president, the counsel determined that it did not pose a legal problem.