Ex-DOJ official says Sally Yates tried to protect president from Flynn — but Trump called her a ‘c*nt’ anyway

President Donald Trump reportedly used an unspeakably sexist slur to insult then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates -- but one former government official said he missed the point of her warning about Russian blackmail.

Yates was fired Jan. 30, four days after warning the White House counsel that national security adviser Mike Flynn may be "compromised" after lying about conversations with the Russian ambassador about easing sanctions levied by the outgoing Obama administration.

"What I think Donald Trump has always missed about the warning about Mike Flynn -- she was looking out for him, she was looking out for the White House," said Matthew Miller, former spokesman for the Justice Department. "She was trying to warn them they had someone in their midst who would embarrass the White House and potentially compromise the White House. Not only did they ignore it, they turned on her."

Trump fired Yates, who was filling in as U.S. attorney general until Jeff Sessions could be confirmed, and referred to her as "such a c*nt," according to a new book by reporter Michael Wolff.

"He used a word to describe Sally Yates that we can't use on morning television or late-night television or, really, any time," Miller said. "I will tell you as someone who worked with Sally Yates, I was shaking with anger when I read it (Wednesday). Sally Yates is one of the most talented, most courageous, classiest, smartest prosecutors of her generation."

Miller said Trump's rudely dismissive attitude toward Yates -- and her warning about Flynn, who has accepted a plea deal and agreed to cooperate in the special counsel probe -- shows how unprepared he is for the position he holds.

"I think it's a sign, like everything else in the book, this president -- not just the president but all the people around him -- weren't really ready to run the government when they took office," Miller said. "I think in the last year we've seen they haven't gotten any better at it."