--- title: Sally Yates: White House Argues She Was Clinton Supporter description: President Trump continues to defend former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn because he does "not want to smear a good man." canonical: https://time.com/4772895/sean-spicer-michael-flynn-sally-yates/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-09T19:31:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:10.811Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump 'Does Not Want to Smear' Michael Flynn og:description: "The president does not want to smear a good man." og:url: https://time.com/4772895/sean-spicer-michael-flynn-sally-yates/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04c30e073dd22363/6988c0bff887dcf2e7e99a6f/michael-flynn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Trump's National Security Adviser Michael Flynn Quits og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump 'Does Not Want to Smear' Michael Flynn twitter:description: "The president does not want to smear a good man." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04c30e073dd22363/6988c0bff887dcf2e7e99a6f/michael-flynn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Says President Trump 'Does Not Want to Smear' Michael Flynn > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: President Obama Warned Trump Not to Hire Michael Flynn [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama Warned Trump Not to Hire Michael Flynn](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S0U0LQyD.m3u8) (0:51)  _Published 2017-05-08. President Barack Obama warned Donald Trump against hiring Michael Flynn as national security adviser during an Oval Office meeting after the 2016 election, according to three former Obama administration officials_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson May 9, 2017 7:31 PM UTC  Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald J. Trump, attends a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the White Houseon Feb. 10, 2017. Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald J. Trump, attends a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the White Houseon Feb. 10, 2017. Olivier Douliery—Sipa/AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson May 9, 2017 7:31 PM UTC President Trump continues to defend former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn because he “does not want to smear a good man,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday. Speaking at the regular White House press briefing, Spicer defended the Trump Administration’s handling of Flynn, who was fired for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. “It’s not question of defending Mike flynn or not,” he said. “I think Mike Flynn is somebody who honorably served our country in uniform for over 30 years. And I think as he’s noted, Lt. General Flynn was [asked for his resignation](http://time.com/4670208/michael-flynn-resignation-trump-white-house/?xid=homepage) because he misled the Vice President. But beyond that I think he did have an honorable career, he served with distinction in uniform for over 30 years, and the president does not want to smear a good man.” But Spicer repeatedly downplayed testimony by former acting attorney general Sally Yates, who told a Senate committee Monday that she told the White House counsel 18 days before Flynn resigned that Flynn was “compromised” and could be blackmailed by Russia. Spicer said Yates merely gave the administration “a heads up” on Flynn, claiming without citing any evidence that she is a “strong supporter” of Hillary Clinton and calling her “someone who is not exactly a supporter of the president’s agenda.” ([Trump fired Yates](http://time.com/4654665/president-trump-sally-yates-immigration-order/?iid=sr-link1), an Obama appointee, in January after she refused to defend his travel ban in court—though this didn’t occur until four days after her initial meeting with White House counsel Don McGahn on Flynn.) Flynn was eventually fired after weeks of [crippling leaks](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/national-security-adviser-flynn-discussed-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador-despite-denials-officials-say/2017/02/09/f85b29d6-ee11-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.f43afbd48062) to the press about his conduct and his ties to Russia. According to the White House, Trump fired Flynn for misleading Pence about the nature of his contacts with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. He also failed to list more than $150,000 in 2016 income on his initial personal-financial-disclosure form, including a financial relationship with Russian state-backed outlet RT. ## Transcript The President doesn't disclose details of meetings that he has, which in this case was an hour long meeting. But it's true that President Obama made it known that he wasn't exactly a fan of General Flynn's. Which frankly shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that given that General Flynn had worked for President Obama, was an outspoken critic of President Obama's shortcomings. Specifically as it related to his Lack of strategy confronting ISIS and other threats around that were facing America. So, the question that you have to ask yourself really, is that if President Obama was truly concerned about General Flynn, why didn't he suspend General Flynn's security clearance which they had just reapproved months earlier? Additionally, why did the Obama administration let Flynn go to Russia for a paid speaking engagement and receive a fee? 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