Pentagon joins intensifying probe of Flynn

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Investigations intensified Thursday into President Donald Trump’s ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn, as the Pentagon watchdog joined lawmakers in probing payments he accepted from foreign sources including 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 when 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 has 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 there’s no evidence he did so.

“The Pentagon’s warning to General Flynn was bold, italicized and could not have been clearer,” Cummings said.

In a key 2014 document, Flynn was told by a Defense Intelligence Agency official that the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments provision prohibits any monetary payments or gifts “from a foreign government unless congressional consent is first obtained.” The Oct. 8, 2014, letter – which was sent to Flynn at his request – explained that such “advance approval” would need to come “from the relevant service secretary.”

On Thursday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer rebuffed criticism from Cummings that the White House was covering up.