Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, Illegally Shared Confidential Information

I've read several places that Flynn installed a secret Internet connection in his office at the Pentagon, and that he had been investigated for improperly sharing confidential documents with NATO allies at Afghanistan HQ (it was determined that he had indeed shared such documents, but without malicious intent). Click here for an article at The Hill, by Jessie Hellmann, entitled "New Yorker profile: Flynn broke 'stupid' rules during Army career." Hellmann says:

Flynn, Donald Trump's newly named national security adviser, told The New Yorker's Dana Priest that he would sneak out of the CIA station in Iraq when he was assigned there without the "insane" required approval from headquarters.

He also said he had technicians install an Internet connection in his Pentagon office, even though it was forbidden.

Another time, Flynn said he gave classified information to NATO allies without approval, which resulted in an investigation and a warning from superiors. Another time, Flynn said he gave classified information to NATO allies without approval, which resulted in an investigation and a warning from superiors.

About Flynn's management style, Hellmann says:

He would often say things that weren't true, one subordinate told The New Yorker, such as stating that Iran had killed more Americans than al Qaeda.

Flynn was also known to have a temper, former associate said, and berated people of front of colleagues.

Flynn was fired as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency by his boss James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence.

In an article at Esquire entitled "There Are Going to Be Some Awkward Run-Ins at the Water Cooler in Trump's White House," subtitled "General Michael Flynn has priors with David Petraeus and 'Mad Dog' Mattis," Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bateman puts things in more personal terms, describing his experiences in confidential meetings at Afghanistan's NATO HQ, where he arrived in January 2011, two months after Flynn's departure. He describes the commonly-understood protocol for intelligence sharing in meetings, and concludes his article:

But the real kicker in all of this, one that should make for an interesting time at the White House water cooler, is this tidbit: The investigation into Flynn's behavior was ordered in 2010 by the commander of the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida. The exact date hasn't been released, but if it took place in the first half of the year, then the CENTCOM commander who ordered the investigation was General David Petraeus—another rumored Trump appointee.

If it occurred sometime between July 2010 and Flynn's departure from Afghanistan in October, Flynn's boss in Afghanistan was Petraeus, and the commander at CENTCOM was none other than General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, the nominee for Secretary of Defense. Awkward.

Petraeus and Mattis are 4-star generals, while Flynn is a 3-star. Nowhere is rank and hierarchy more pronounced and important than in the military. There will be no question as to whose authority is greater, and who is subordinate.