133 their conversations with Flynn. The public statements of incoming Administration officials denying that Flynn and Kislyak had discussed sanctions alarmed senior DOJ officials, who 134 were aware that the statements were not true. Those officials were concerned that Flynn had lied to his colleagues—who in turn had unwittingly misled the American public—creating a compromise situation for Flynn because the Department of Justice assessed that the Russian government could prove Flynn 135 lied. The FBI investigative team also believed that Flynn’s calls with Kislyak and subsequent denials about discussing sanctions raised potential Logan Act 136 issues and were relevant to the FBI’s broader Russia investigation. On January 20, 2017, President Trump was inaugurated and Flynn was sworn in as National Security Advisor. On January 23, 2017, Spicer delivered his first press briefing and stated that he had spoken with Flynn the night before, who confirmed that the calls with Kislyak were about topics unrelated to 137 sanctions. Spicer’s statements added to the Department of Justice’s concerns that Russia had leverage over Flynn based on his lies and could use that 138 derogatory information to compromise him. On January 24, 2017, Flynn agreed to be interviewed by agents from the 139 FBI. During the interview, which took place at the White House, Flynn falsely stated that he did not ask Kislyak to refrain from escalating the situation in response to the sanctions on Russia imposed by the Obama 140 Administration. Flynn also falsely stated that he did not remember a follow- up conversation in which Kislyak stated that Russia had chosen to moderate its 141 response to those sanctions as a result of Flynn’s request. 4. DOJ Officials Notify the White House of Their Concerns About Flynn On January 26, 2017, Acting Attorney General Sally Yates contacted White House Counsel Donald McGahn and informed him that she needed to discuss a 142 sensitive matter with him in person. Later that day, Yates and Mary McCord, a senior national security official at the Department of Justice, met at the White House with McGahn and White House Counsel’s Office attorney James