The INITIAL Flynn/Kislyak leak was not to David Ignatius – it was to WaPo reporter Adam Entous. The leak came directly from “sources [who] saw a transcript and described it to [Entous].”
We suspect the Flynn/Kislyak [leak] occurred around January 5, 2017 – the same date Obama was allegedly briefed on the call by Clapper.
This date coincides with Entous reporting on other “intercepted communications” from Russian officials leaked to Entous.
Entous: “My sources start whispering to me that there were these mysterious communications” between Flynn and Kislyak.
This caused an internal WaPo discussion about whether to run the Flynn/Kislyak story.
To his credit, Entous didn’t find it newsworthy.
As a columnist, he was about to throw out the Flynn/Kislyak call and ask “What was it about?”
I’m not certain the call was ever independently leaked to Ignatius.
Further Flynn/Kislyak leaks to Entous on February 9, 2017 – perhaps from the same sources who provided the initial leak, and supported by new sources. “Current and former U.S. officials” confirmed the contents of Flynn’s call with Kislyak.
February 13, 2017 – likely DOJ leaks related to (or on behalf of) Sally Yates by “an official familiar with her thinking.”
Curious if that was McCord or Tashina Gauhar.
How close was the source to Yates? Close enough to know exactly when Yates saw the intelligence.
“when this intelligence came in, which would be in late December, early January . . . Yates saw the intelligence”
