Yet several major US media outlets were initially silent about the Israeli connection.

Flynn appeared in federal court in Washington to admit that he lied about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador last December, in the weeks before Donald Trump took the oath of office.

The single count charges that Flynn lied to federal investigators about two conversations; in the first, on 22 December, Flynn asked the Russian envoy to delay or defeat the UN Security Council vote condemning Israel's settlements.

In the second conversation, a week later, Flynn had asked the Russian government to refrain from retaliating harshly to sanctions imposed by the Obama administration – an act, ironically, that would benefit the United States.