# KT McFarland Reagan-era Pentagon spokeswoman turned [[Fox News]] national-security commentator whom Trump made deputy national security adviser under [[Michael Flynn]]. She was the Mar-a-Lago end of the December 2016 phone calls in which Flynn asked Russia's ambassador not to retaliate for Obama's sanctions — the conduct Flynn later pleaded guilty to lying about. Her role shows Flynn was coordinating with the transition, not freelancing. ## Timeline | Date | Event | |---|---| | 1980s | Speechwriter for Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger; deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs | | 2006 | Loses the New York Republican Senate primary | | Dec 29, 2016 | The day Obama announces sanctions and expulsions over election interference, Flynn calls McFarland at Mar-a-Lago before speaking to [[Sergey Kislyak]] about sanctions (her identity comes from press reporting; the plea papers don't name her). The same day she emails that Russia "has just thrown the U.S.A. election to him" — which a White House lawyer said described Democrats' framing | | Jan 20 – May 19, 2017 | Deputy national security adviser, first under Flynn, then H.R. McMaster | | 2017 | Nominated ambassador to Singapore. Tells Sen. Cory Booker she was "not aware" of Flynn's Russia contacts, though her emails said "General Flynn is talking to the Russian ambassador this evening" | | Feb 2, 2018 | Withdraws the nomination | | Sept 2018 | Corrects her account to Mueller's investigators | | 2026 | Fox News commentator and board member of the [[American Conservative Union]]; writes in praise of the Iran strikes ("Operation Epic Fury") | ## Why it matters here The Flynn–Kislyak calls are the Russia episode that produced a guilty plea. McFarland's emails establish that the sanctions message was discussed with the transition team at Mar-a-Lago in real time. See [[First Trump Transition]] and [[Michael Flynn]]. ## See Also - [[Michael Flynn]] · [[Sergey Kislyak]] · [[First Trump Transition]] - [[National Security Council]] · [[Mueller Investigation]] - [[Fox News]] · [[Iran War 2026]]