Jeremy Bash, a former chief of staff for both the Department of Defense and the CIA, said the White House hit the panic button after former national security adviser Mike Flynn pleaded guilty as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe.
"The big picture is that the last three weeks have been weeks of panic for the Trump team," Bash told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
He said the Trump team kicked "into a different gear" after Flynn agreed to cooperate with investigators after pleading guilty to lying to FBI agents, which Bash believes indicates their panicked fear.
"They've tried to attack the investigation, attack Bob Mueller and try to really obstruct the investigation itself in a whole new way, and I think what's going on is that the president and his team have realized that Mike Flynn has a critical piece of information he's going to share with Mueller," Bash said.
Sally Yates, who briefly served as acting U.S. attorney general, warned the White House counsel that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia, but Bash believes Trump directed the national security adviser to discuss sanctions with Kremlin officials.
"I think it's important to remember that the explanation from the White House as to why Flynn was fired was because he lied to the vice president," Bash said. "They never said he lied to the president. In fact, I think we can assume he told the president the truth. That goes to the question of whether or not the president knew, when he fired (FBI director) Jim Comey, he knew a felony had been committed."
Mike Allen, co-founder and executive editor of Axios, said those weeks of panic could turn into "months of panic," based on his conversations with Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"When some of the inner-circle Trump witnesses including Jared Kushner, including (Donald) Trump Jr., came up to the Senate Intelligence Committee the first time, they were just questioned by staff members," Allen said. "This time, Mark Warner tells me, they're going to be recalled to be questioned by the senators themselves. Now, there will be a fight about whether that's public or not, but these inner-circle witnesses are going to back on the hot seat."
Rhona Graff, who has served Trump for more than 20 years at the Trump Organization, will meet with the House Intelligence Committee at an undisclosed New York location, and Bash said she potentially holds one important piece of the puzzle.
"I think there's two issues, there's substance and there's process," Bash said. "On the substance, I think it's important for them to talk to her, because she will testify and she will be able to explain on June 9, 2016, after the big meeting with the Russian delegation arrived at Trump Tower and said, 'We're here to support the campaign and here's how. We can't give campaign contributions, but we can give dirt on your opponent.'"
"She needs to explain to investigators did Don Jr. and Paul Manafort and others walk into Donald Trump's office and give him a download?" Bash continued. "Probably yes, but I think we need to hear it from her. On the process, though, I think it's very important to say it is an investigative technique to shield a witness if you do it on their home turf, and don't bring them into your investigative spaces. This is the Republicans not wanting to offend Trump. I think it's a huge red flag the investigators aren't doing their job if they're willing to investigate witnesses outside of Washington, if there's no reason they can't travel to Washington and be interviewed."
