Yates: Russia had ‘real leverage’ over Flynn

The Russians had “real leverage” over former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates says.

“I think that this was a serious compromise situation, that the Russians had real leverage,” Yates said during an interview scheduled to air later Tuesday on CNN.

Yates added that Flynn had lied to Vice President Pence.

{mosads}”Whether he’s fired or not is a decision for the president of the United States to make,” she said, “but doesn’t seem like that’s a person who should be sitting in the national security adviser position.”

Yates also denied she had leaked information to the media.

“I did not and I would not leak classified information,” she said.

Yates, who was fired by President Trump after her refusal to defend his original travel ban, testified earlier this month before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

During the hearing, Yates said she warned the White House that Flynn put himself at risk of being blackmailed by the Russians.

Reporting based on leaks of U.S. surveillance revealed in February that Flynn misled Pence about the contents of a December phone call to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak — an account Pence repeated publicly. Flynn was ousted shortly after the reports were released.