Flynn’s work as ‘foreign agent’ kept under wraps
WASHINGTON The White House says US President Donald Trump did not know until this week that his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had been working as a representative for Turkey, although the issue was raised with the Trump team before he took office.
Flynn acted as a foreign agent representing the interests of Turkey’s government in exchange for more than US$500,000 during last year’s presidential campaign, even as he was advising Trump, the New York Times reported yesterday.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Flynn’s lobbying was a personal and business matter, and it was up to him to decide when to register it with the US Justice Department.
Asked if Trump had been unaware that Flynn was working as a foreign agent, Spicer said: ‘‘Correct . . . You wouldn’t know that until he filed. He didn’t file until two days ago.’’
Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, US citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments or political entities must disclose their work to the Justice Department. Willfully failing to register is a felony, though the department rarely files criminal charges in such cases.
Before Trump’s inauguration, Flynn’s ties to Turkey were widely reported, and he wrote an article urging the US to cultivate better relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Trump fired Flynn last month for discussing US sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador to the US before Trump took office on January 20, and for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.
Spicer said he did not know whether Flynn had disclosed his lobbying work in a security clear- ance review before he became national security adviser.
The disclosure suggests that Trump transition lawyers did not view Flynn’s lobbying work for a Turkish businessman as a liability for an official who serves as the president’s closest adviser on security and international affairs. It also raises new questions about whether Trump’s transition team, and later his White House lawyers, fully vetted Flynn.
Flynn registered with the Justice Department on Wednesday, citing US$530,000 worth of lobbying. His work on behalf of a company owned by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin occurred at the same time he was advising Trump’s presidential campaign.
Spicer said Flynn’s lawyer had raised the possible filing with the transition team, but Trump’s REUTERS lawyers responded that it was a personal matter and not something they would consult on.
‘‘We trust people to fill out the forms that they are required to do so in an honest and legal manner, and in this case he retroactively filed the forms.’’
He dismissed questions about whether Flynn’s work should have raised red flags for the new administration, saying the retired US Army lieutenant general had ‘‘impeccable credentials’’.
In the filings with the Justice Department’s Foreign Agent Registration Unit, Flynn and his firm, Flynn Intel Group, acknowledged that his work for Alptekin’s company ‘‘could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey’’. The lobbying on behalf of Inovo BV, a Dutch-based company owned by Alptekin, occurred from August through November.
Flynn’s filing said he and his firm were not certain whether Turkey’s government was involved in Inovo’s hiring of them as lobbyists. The firm said it was aware, however, that Alptekin ‘‘consulted with officials of the Republic of Turkey regarding potential work by Flynn Intel Group’’.
The firm also acknowledged that Alptekin introduced Flynn to two senior Turkish government officials in September – Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, who is Erdogan’s son-in-law.
Alptekin said Flynn and his firm filed the registration under pressure from Justice Department officials. He said he disagreed with the decision to register, and had asked for some of his money back.
In November, Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent Pence a letter warning about conflicts created by Flynn’s lobbying work.
According to Flynn’s filings, his firm’s work involved research, informational materials and a video on the cleric Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan has accused Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, of orchestrating a botched coup last year, and has called for his extradition, a request the Obama administration rebuffed.
Alptekin has denied having any ties to Erdogan’s government, but he is a member of a Turkish economic relations board run by an Erdogan appointee.
‘ We trust people to fill out the forms that they are required to do so in an honest and legal manner.’ WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN SEAN SPICER
Reuters, AP