Pentagon joins inquiry of ex-security aide Flynn
Payments from Russian state TV, Turkey at issue.
Investigations intensified into President Trump’s ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Investigations intensified into President Donald Trump’s ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn, on Thursday as the Pentagon watchdog joined lawmakers in probing payments Flynn accepted from foreign sources that included a Russian state-sponsored TV network.
At the same time, documents released by the top Democrat on a House oversight committee showed Flynn was warned by authorities after he retired from the military in 2014 not to take foreign government-sourced money without “advance approval” from the Pentagon.
Flynn, a former Army lieutenant general and Defense Intelligence Agency chief, later accepted tens of thousands of dollars for his work on behalf of foreign interests, including RT, the state-supported Russian television network, and a Turkish-owned company linked to Turkey’s government.
The Pentagon’s acting inspector general’s office confirmed Thursday he had launched an inquiry into whether those payments qualify as coming from foreign governments and whether Flynn properly informed military authorities about them.
The White House defended its hiring of Flynn and attempted to shift blame for any problems with his vetting onto the Obama administration, which handled the reissuance of his security clearance in January 2016.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who released the documents, said during a news conference that Flynn had been clearly informed he needed to get permission to receive foreign payments, and that there is no evidence he did so.
“The Pentagon’s warning to General Flynn was bold, italicized and could not have been clearer,” Cummings said.
Earlier this week, Cummings and Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House committee, said that they had found no evidence Flynn asked the Army for permission to receive foreign payments or informed the military he had accepted them. Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said the Army had no records that Flynn requested that permission.
One episode in question involves a trip he took to Moscow in 2015 for RT’s anniversary celebration. He was paid to attend the gala at which he was seated next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“General Flynn’s attorney says he discussed his trip to Moscow with DIA, but we have no evidence, not a shred, that he disclosed his payments,” Cummings said Thursday.
In a statement, Flynn’s attorney Robert Kelner said the Defense Department “was fully aware” that Flynn had been paid $33,750 to travel to Moscow in 2015 for RT’s anniversary gala.
Kelner also pointed to a letter, released in redacted form by Cummings, that notes Flynn provided a thumb drive to the agency containing documents detailing the RT event.
Kelner’s statement did not address other payments Flynn received from foreign sources. Flynn has previously disclosed he got between $50,000 and $100,000 as part of his personal stake in $530,000 that his company, Flynn Intel Group, received for consulting work last year for a Turkish businessman.
Chaffetz, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said that Flynn “had an obligation to seek approval to take money from a foreign government. We found no evidence that he did that.”
Chaffetz’s office released a letter he sent Thursday to the Army, asking the service’s acting secretary to make a final determination as to whether Flynn violated federal law by accepting the payments, and if so, to start the process of recovering that money.
Chaffetz also asked the Army to say why it hasn’t yet made a determination as to the legality of Flynn’s payments from RT.