Emails among top officials in President Trump's transition suggest that Michael Flynn was in contact with top members of the transition team before and after he had a phone call with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak discussing sanctions, the New York Times reports, citing emails "provided or described" to the paper.
Why it matters: Flynn has been portrayed "as a renegade who had acted independently in his discussions" with Kislyak, the Times says. But the emails suggest that after President Obama applied sanctions to Russia, the Trump team was strategizing a way "to reassure Russia." They believed retaliation between the U.S. and Russia would overshadow Trump's victory, per the Times.