Trump focuses on NFL as former official cuts ties

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump again derided the National Football League on Friday amid news one of his former top official has cut off ties with the president's lawyers.

"Can you believe that the disrespect for our Country, our Flag, our Anthem continues without penalty to the players," he said, shortly after the New York Times reported former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn could be moving to cooperate with an investigation into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia.

Flynn's legal team notified the president's lawyers he can no longer discuss the special investigation being headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, that the newspaper said could be a sign Flynn is either seeking a deal or is cooperating with the probe Trump has slammed as a "witch hunt".

The Twitter-happy president has been silent about the Flynn matter and many view the tweet as an attempt to distract from the development.

Flynn is a central figure in the investigation after having played a key role in Trump's campaign, and briefly serving as his first national security advisor.

So far three Trump campaign officials have been charged, including former chairman Paul Manafort, aide Rick Gates and foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos, who has pleaded guilty.

Flynn departed the administration in disgrace amid revelations he lied about his contacts with Russia's Washington envoy Sergey Kislyak. At the time, Flynn denied having discussed U.S. sanctions with Kislyak, but the claim was false.

And Flynn's troubles have only grown over revelations he failed to disclose payments from foreign governments.

Former FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress that Trump sought to have him dismiss the FBI probe into Flynn -- an investigation he said he quickly wrote a memo about.

Comey was abruptly fired by Trump in a rare move for a U.S. president amid the bureau's Russia investigation. That firing, as well as Flynn's controversies, have fueled speculation regarding the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia.