Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 28, 2016, the day before the Obama administration announced new sanctions against Russia. Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Dec. 1 to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russian officials. The stage was set the day before, on Dec. 28, when it was widely reported Obama would announce new sanctions on Russia for interfering in the election. McFarland was slated to brief Trump, according to a schedule of his day provided to reporters. Obama was trying to “box Trump in diplomatically with Russia,” McFarland wrote in the message, according to the New York Times.

Source: Washington Post December 08, 2017 21:31 UTC