Michael Flynn Resigns as National Security Advisor After 24 Days

The Controversy

Michael Flynn served as National Security Advisor for just 24 days — the shortest tenure in the history of the position. His downfall centered on phone calls he made with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016, during the presidential transition, in which they discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia that the Obama administration had just imposed in retaliation for election interference.

Flynn publicly denied discussing sanctions with Kislyak, and Vice President Mike Pence repeated those denials on national television. But U.S. intelligence agencies had monitored Kislyak’s communications as a matter of routine, and transcripts showed the denials were false.

The Warning

Acting Attorney General Sally Yates traveled to the White House on January 26, 2017, to warn White House Counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had been compromised. She explained that because the Russians knew Flynn had lied about the calls, he was vulnerable to blackmail by Moscow. Despite this warning, the administration took no immediate action against Flynn, and Trump fired Yates four days later — ostensibly for refusing to defend the travel ban.

It was not until The Washington Post reported on February 9 that Flynn had indeed discussed sanctions with Kislyak that the situation became untenable. Even then, the White House initially stood by Flynn before accepting his resignation on February 13.

Flynn’s Resignation and Legal Troubles

In his resignation letter, Flynn acknowledged that he had “inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador.” He would later plead guilty to lying to the FBI about these conversations as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Flynn became the first senior Trump administration official to face criminal charges and cooperated extensively with prosecutors. His case took several dramatic turns — he later sought to withdraw his guilty plea, and the Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr moved to drop the case in 2020, a decision that was widely criticized as politically motivated. Trump ultimately pardoned Flynn in November 2020.

The Larger Pattern

Flynn’s ouster was an early signal of the chaos and Russia-related entanglements that would engulf the Trump White House. The 18-day gap between Yates’s warning and Flynn’s departure raised serious questions about whether Trump and his advisors prioritized protecting Flynn over national security. It also foreshadowed the administration’s persistent pattern of firing anyone who delivered unwelcome truths.