Rep. King: Leak That Led to Flynn's Resignation Is
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Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said on "The First 100 Days" tonight that authorities should investigate who leaked a wiretapped conversation between former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Flynn, a retired general, resigned Monday after it was reported that he did not tell the full truth about the conversation to Vice President Mike Pence, who in turn appeared on news programs and repeated the flawed information to the public.
King said he was at the White House on Tuesday and he was told Flynn was ousted mainly because he wasn't honest with Pence and that he and President Donald Trump had a "breakdown in trust."
However, King said whoever in the government leaked the contents of the conversation to the press should have "strong action" taken against them.
"That is a criminal action to have a wiretap of a foreign national and an American ... leaked to a newspaper," he said, adding that standard precautions should have been taken to conceal Flynn's identity in the first place.
The bugged conversation could have been a legal wiretap of a Russian national, but the leak violated the law, he said.
"This [case] should be pursued right to the end."