Flynn appears to have broken law: congressmen

WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, appeared to violate federal law when he failed to seek permission or inform the U.S. government about accepting tens of thousands of dollars from Russian organizations after a trip there in 2015, leaders of a House oversight committee said Tuesday.

The congressmen also raised new questions about fees Flynn received as part of $530,000 in consulting work his company performed for a businessman tied to Turkey’s government.

The bipartisan accusations that Flynn may have broken the law come as his foreign contacts are being examined by other congressional committees as part of investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential ties between Trump associates and the Kremlin. Congress returned earlier this week from its spring recess, and Tuesday’s announcements reflected renewed interest on Capitol Hill.

Reps. Jason Chaffetz, RUtah, and Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said Flynn could be criminally prosecuted because, as a former Army officer, he was barred from accepting payments from foreign governments. Flynn, who headed the military’s top intelligence agency, is a retired lieutenant-general and was Trump’s national security adviser until he was fired in February.

“That money needs to be recovered,” said Chaffetz, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “You simply cannot take money from Russia, Turkey or anybody else.”

The congressmen spoke after reviewing classified documents regarding Flynn that were provided by his former agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency. They were also briefed by agency officials. The congressmen declined to describe in detail the materials they reviewed.

Chaffetz and Cummings said they planned to write to the comptroller of the Army and the Defence Department’s inspector general to determine whether Flynn broke the law and whether the government needs to pursue criminal charges.

Cummings also criticized the White House for refusing to turn over documents the committee requested about Flynn’s vetting before his appointment and his foreign contacts during his threeweek stint as national security adviser.

In response to a letter to White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, a Trump administration official told the committee that documents relating to those contacts likely contained classified and other sensitive information and could not be turned over.

“That is simply unacceptable,” Cummings said.