NBC’s Matt Lauer to Conway: Your defense of the WH over Flynn ‘makes no sense’

NBC’s Matt Lauer early Tuesday told White House counselor Kellyanne Conway that her defense of the Trump administration’s handling of former national security adviser Michael Flynn made “no sense.”

“That makes no sense,” Lauer told Conway on “Today” after she said Flynn’s involvement in the administration eventually became “unsustainable.”

Conway said “the key” to his resignation was misleading Vice President Pence.

Lauer then pointed to the Department of Justice warning the White House about the risk Flynn posed to the administration after his controversial phone call with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. That warning occurred under then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who was later fired by President Trump. 

“At that moment, he still had the complete trust of the president?” Lauer asked Conway, who did not respond directly.

She said, however, that Trump has accepted Flynn’s resignation and is moving forward with his search to replace him.

“You’re saying that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the White House knew about that last month when the Justice Department warned the White House that Mr. Flynn, or Gen. Flynn, had not been completely honest in characterizing that conversation with the Russian ambassador,” Lauer said.

“They even went further to say that as a result of that dishonesty, he was at risk for blackmailing by the Russians.”

Just hours before Flynn resigned on Monday, Conway said Trump had “full confidence” in his national security adviser. 

Flynn resigned late Monday evening after reports that he had discussed Russian sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama’s administration with Russia’s ambassador before Trump was sworn in. Pence had denied the report, but Flynn said he “couldn’t be 100 percent” sure whether he and the Russian ambassador discussed sanctions in the call.