White House slams Sally Yates as ‘a political opponent’

A day after former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified to the Senate that she warned the Trump administration that in January that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia, the White House attempted to cast Yates as a “political opponent of the president.”

Yates told the Senate subcommittee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election on Monday that she informed White House counsel Donald McGahn on Jan. 26 that she believed Flynn had been “compromised.”

Yates, a career federal prosecutor who has worked in both Democratic and Republican administrations, was fired by Trump in late January after refusing to comply with his controversial travel ban executive order. Courts later blocked both that order and a revised version.

“This is not exactly someone that was excited about President Trump taking office or his agenda,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday.

The White House has said Trump was subsequently briefed about Yates’ warning but decided to keep Flynn on until his resignation on Feb. 13 — three days after the Washington Post revealed that Flynn had discussed U.S.-imposed sanctions with the Russian ambassador during the transition. The White House says Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about those discussions, resulting in Pence falsely saying on 

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