To get some of the substance of why [Michael] Flynn [is Defense Adviser] is so controversial.

[Michael Flynn has] seen at a dinner party famously sitting next to Vladimir Putin.

[Michael Flynn is] someone who has advocated for a much tighter ties with Russia and had raised some eyebrows in terms of some of the consorting that he did around Washington.

To get some of the substance of why [Michael] Flynn [is Defense Adviser] is so controversial.

[Michael Flynn] has just said that the U.S. Justice system is corrupt.

He is obviously an American hero. John McCain is a vanishing breed. He is an iconoclast, he is in his own mind and often in reality a maverick. And I think, you know, you having spent the time that you spent in the Senate know that this is true.

In the national security establishment, it is somewhat frowned upon for people to take extremely harsh partisan roles in campaigns.