The Latest: WH adviser skirts question on Flynn and Russia
By Associated Press
Feb 12, 2017 10:10 AM CST
FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands in front of his airplane as he speaks during a rally in Bentonville, Ark. No matter what issue Trump is addressing, he seems either to know somebody with a relevant personal experience or he’s got a firsthand...   (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):

11:05 a.m.

A top White House aide says it's not up to him to say whether President Donald Trump retains confidence in national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Policy director Stephen Miller says the White House didn't give him anything specific to say about Flynn during Miller's appearances on the Sunday news shows. Miller calls it "an important matter" and "a sensitive matter" best answered by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence or chief of staff Reince Priebus.

At issue is whether Flynn discussed U.S. sanctions in calls with Russia's ambassador while President Barack Obama was still in office. The conversations may have broken U.S. law aimed at barring private citizens from conducting diplomacy.

A Washington Post report last week contradicted Flynn's previous denials, as well as those made by Vice President Mike Pence in a televised interview.

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9:35 a.m.

President Donald Trump is praising the actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers for the recent "enforcement surge" that officials say is targeting immigrants who are in the country illegally and have criminal records.

Trump tweets that "the crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!"

Advocacy groups contend the government has rounded large numbers of people as part of stepped-up enforcement. The agency calls the effort no different from enforcement actions carried out in the past.

Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that the emphasis is on deporting those he calls "criminal aliens" and who "pose a threat to public safety."

Miller says "we're going to focus on public safety and saving American lives and we will not apologize."

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9:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump's chief policy adviser says the White House is exploring "all of our options" after a federal appeals court handed the administration a legal setback on Trump's executive order on immigration.

Stephen Miller tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that the White House could pursue "additional executive actions" — as Trump suggested on Friday — as well as judicial appeals.

Miller says the goal is to pursue "every single possible action to keep our country safe from terrorism."

He's also criticizing judges for taking "power for themselves that belong squarely in the hands" of the president.

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