K.T. McFarland, a former Fox News contributor, has just turned up in the spotlight of the Russia investigation. If nothing else, her emails serve as Exhibit A in proof that former national security adviser Michael Flynn was no rogue agent when he spoke with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in an effort to undercut President Obama’s sanctions on Russia.
From the New York Times:
While Mr. Trump has disparaged as a Democratic “hoax” any claims that he or his aides had unusual interactions with Russian officials, the records suggest that the Trump transition team was intensely focused on improving relations with Moscow and was willing to intervene to pursue that goal despite a request from the Obama administration that it not sow confusion about official American policy before Mr. Trump took office.
On Dec. 29, a transition adviser to Mr. Trump, K. T. McFarland, wrote in an email to a colleague that sanctions announced hours before by the Obama administration in retaliation for Russian election meddling were aimed at discrediting Mr. Trump’s victory. The sanctions could also make it much harder for Mr. Trump to ease tensions with Russia, “which has just thrown the U.S.A. election to him,” she wrote in the emails obtained by The Times.
It is not clear whether Ms. McFarland was saying she believed that the election had in fact been thrown. A White House lawyer said on Friday that she meant only that the Democrats were portraying it that way.
Here is the full context of McFarland’s email, via Michael Schmidt, one of the reporters on the Times story:
.@McFaul See attached. As we said in the story, it’s no clear that she is saying she believed that election had been thrown. And WH lawyer in story said she was referring to how Dems portrayed it. pic.twitter.com/cjXNpCKIJO
— Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) December 2, 2017
Even if McFarland was not saying Russia threw the election for Trump, her involvement certainly belies Trump’s claim that the transition team was not involved in Flynn’s contacts with Russia. More from the Times:
In his phone call with Mr. Kislyak, Mr. Flynn asked that Russia “not escalate the situation,” according to court documents released on Friday. He later related the substance of the call — including the discussion of sanctions — to a senior transition official, believed to be Ms. McFarland. A few days later, he briefed others on the transition team.
Mr. Flynn’s intervention appeared to have a dramatic effect. To the surprise of foreign policy experts, the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, did not immediately respond with retaliatory expulsions of Americans from Moscow.
Yesterday, Fox News’ John Roberts reported that the “senior transition official” Flynn spoke with after his call with Kislyak was, in fact, McFarland. (H/T NewsHound Brian)
Stay tuned!
(McFarland image via screen grab)