From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro.

This is the Daily.

Today, a wiretapped phone call, Russian diplomats,

fear of blackmail, a loose-slipped army general, and a White House in crisis.

From fateful call to resignation, the 47-day fall of Donald Trump's National Security Advisor,

Michael Flynn. We tell the whole story.

It's Wednesday, February 15th.

In early December, after Donald Trump's election, but before his inauguration,

Washington is reeling because what has been rumor for months is now being confirmed by American

intelligence agencies. This just in the CNN, Russian Hacker is managed to infiltrate the

computer network at the Democratic National Committee. The United States formally charged that

Russia organized a hacking of Democratic political sites and state election systems.

The cyber attack on the Democratic National Committee and the email account of Hillary Clinton's

campaign chairman was authorized by the Russian government. It's what federal officials are

calling an extraordinary effort to influence the outcome of an American presidential election.

The growing consensus is that Russia chose sides in that election, and they chose Trump.

Now the president elect. President Obama in the final days of his administration is under pressure

to respond more forcefully to those attacks and is drawing up a plan to retaliate against Russia.

amid all this, two men get on the phone, one from the United States, one from Russia.

The man from the United States is Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, a retired military officer,

who is at this moment a private citizen, but within weeks will become the National Security

Advisor for Donald Trump. The Russian is the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kisilak.

...