Trump team knew Flynn would list as foreign agent
White House was told, it confirms
WASHINGTON - An attorney for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn told President Donald Trump’s transition team before the inauguration that Flynn might register with the government as a foreign agent, White House officials acknowledged.
According to a person with knowledge of the discussions, Flynn’s representatives also had a second conversation with the White House counsel’s office after the inauguration and made clear the national security adviser would indeed be registering with the Justice Department.
On Friday, the White House said it had no recollection of the second conversation. But on Saturday, a White House official said the post-inauguration conversation did occur.
Both the White House official and person with knowledge of the discussions insisted on anonymity in order to disclose the private conversations.
The disclosures Friday indicate 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. They also raise new questions about whether Trump’s transition team, and later his White House lawyers, fully vetted Flynn.
Flynn’s registration last week with the Justice Department disclosed lobbying by him and his firm that may have benefited the government of Turkey.
Trump fired Flynn last month on other grounds — that he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States. Flynn’s registration comes amid intense scrutiny over his and other Trump associates’ potential contacts with Russia. The FBI is investigating, as are House and Senate intelligence committees.
Flynn registered with the Justice Department on Tuesday, citing $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.
Among those told of Flynn’s potential Justice Department registration during the transition was Don McGahn, a campaign lawyer who has gone on to become White House counsel, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversations between Flynn’s representatives and the transition team.
A White House official said McGahn and others were not aware of the details of Flynn’s work. It’s not clear why the Trump advisers did not seek additional information once Flynn’s lawyers raised the issue.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the president had not been aware Flynn might register as a foreign agent. He said that when Flynn’s lawyer raised the possible filing with the transition team, Trump’s attorneys responded that it was a personal matter and not something they would consult on.