Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly has seemed to be in the dark when it comes to various Trump campaign and transition team contacts with Russians.
Now that Michael Flynn's guilty plea has revealed evidence the former national security advisor not only discussed U.S. sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak but also discussed those conversations with Trump transition officials, the media and some lawmakers are taking a closer look at Pence's plausible deniability:
"I think he has new questions to answer," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, who said he wanted Pence to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain what he knew at the time about Flynn's conversations with Russian officials.
In the days since Flynn's guilty plea was unveiled last week, seven people close to the vice president continue to maintain that Pence did not know Flynn spoke with Kislyak about Russian sanctions, despite being the head of the Trump transition.
But among top transition officials, Pence would have been largely alone in his lack of knowledge.
According to CNN, multiple Pence aides say the Vice President's transition role was more focused on personnel than policy and more centered in Washington than New York City where the national security conversations were happening:
One senior White House official said that while there was "some" interaction between Pence and Flynn during the transition, it was not "extensive."
"Mike was coming up with the process for filling Cabinet posts. The Flynn thing was out of his hands -- he's been on the campaign from the start," this official said when asked about Pence's level of trust in the incoming national security adviser.
It's that argument -- Pence was more of a newcomer than Flynn -- that people close to the vice president say bolsters his claim that he didn't know about the extent of these Russian calls. Yet that explanation will surely be tested anew as Mueller's probe reaches closer to Trump's inner circle.
As for the January 15th Face the Nation appearance during which Pence insisted Flynn had not discussed sanctions with Kislyak, a transition official told CNN Pence called Flynn the day before to ask about conversation knowing the issue might come up in his interview.
Flynn insisted to Pence did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak, and during his two television appearances, Pence readily relayed that information -- which turned out to be a lie. Pence discovered that Flynn lied to him through media reports on February 9 as The Washington Post reported that Flynn had in fact spoken with Kislyak about Russian sanctions.
But Flynn’s overtures to foreign governments took place in the midst of a transition that Pence was leading.
“Either he didn’t know about it and then there’s why didn’t he know about it, or he did know about it and he’s lying. Neither is tenable for him,” said Rick Tyler, a Republican strategist and former communications director for the presidential bid of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “One speaks to a lack of character, and one speaks to a lack of competence — neither of which we want in a vice president, or a future president.”
Read More: Russia probe tests Pence in-the-dark defense (CNN)