Former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates has confirmed she informed the White House of her concerns about National Security Adviser Michael Flynn 18 days before he was forced to resign.
Flynn was fired by US President Donald Trump after failing to disclose a meeting with Russia's ambassador to the US.
In Washington, our US correspondent Giles Gibson has more:
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Script
During a grilling by lawmakers at a US Senate hearing...Sally Yates said she first passed on her concerns about Michael Flynn being a high profile blackmail risk on 26th January this year.
Byte Sally Yates
"The Russians also knew about what General Flynn had done...and the Russians also knew that General Flynn had misled the Vice President and others. Because in the media accounts it was clear from the Vice President and others that they were repeating what General Flynn had told them. And that this was a problem."
And Yates made clear to the Senators what that problem was:
Byte Sally Yates
"To state the obvious, you don't want your National Security Adviser to be compromised with the Russians."
Meanwhile it has also emerged that former US President Barack Obama warned Donald Trump not to hire Flynn during a meeting in the Oval Office after the election.
But White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer played down the significance of that warning:
Byte Sean Spicer
"It's true that President Obama made it known that he was not exactly a fan of General Flynn. General Flynn had worked for President Obama and was an outspoken critic of President Obama's shortcomings."
Back at the Senate hearing...former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the long-term effects of Russia's interference in the US elections are still to come:
Byte James Clapper
"They must be congratulating themselves for having exceed their wildest expectations with a minimal expenditure of resource. And I believe they are now emboldened to continue such activities both here and around the world, and to do so more intensely."
So while the several investigations into Russian interference by US lawmakers and intelligence agencies are set to continue...
This testimony by a former Attorney General now triggers one crucial question.
Why did Michael Flynn continue to have access to top secret information for 18 days after he was flagged up as a potential blackmail risk?
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