(Newswire.net — May 30, 2017) — Former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, probably hoped his legal issues were over when Trump let him go, but the truth is that his legal problems might just be starting. Many are questioning whether his actions violated federal law when he failed to both inform and to seek permission from the American government before accepting money from several Russian businesses and organizations during a 2015 trip to Russia.
His actions are currently being investigated by the House Oversight Committee. Representatives Elijah Cummings and Jason Chaffetz are raising questions about Flynn’s involvement with several Russian organizations, and specifically the fees he commissioned to the tune of $530,000 for some work that he did for Turkey’s government. There have been many allegations hurled at Trump regarding his relationship with Russia and Russia’s alleged involvement in swaying public opinion during the 2016 presidential election.
Bipartisan support is demanding that questions be asked about Flynn’s ties to Russia to see how they relate back to President Trump himself. When Flynn resigned, it seemed that the whole issue might just go away. However, when Congress returned last week from their spring recess, the dirt got stirred up again, and an investigation to sort through the facts is likely to ensue.
The allegations being brought forward are that both Cummings and Chaffetz can find no evidence that Flynn disclosed any of his financial dealings, as he was required to do. As a retired Army lieutenant general, he knew the proper procedures, but there is no record of any security clearances or payments made. Since he was Trump’s national security advisor, Trump fired Flynn back in February of this year in the midst of all the scrutiny.
A anti harassment attorney Seattle professional can confirm that the specific questions relate to more than $33,000 that Flynn allegedly received from the Russia Today television network back in 2015. According to U.S. intelligence officials, Russia Today has a reputation for being a propaganda network supporting the Russian government. Chaffetz and other Congressmen believe that the money needs to be traced and recovered to ensure that no laws were broken.
Because Flynn was a retired Army officer, he had an obligation to request permission from both the State and Defense departments before accepting any money from a foreign government. But there are absolutely no documents to support that he did. If he failed to notify the proper agencies and accepted funds without permission, then he can be prosecuted for a felony. If he concealed the payments without reporting them or going through the proper channels, then he broke the law.
An attorney defending Flynn insisted that he not only reported his travels to Russia to the Defense Intelligence Agency, but that he also briefed officials upon return of his actions and dealings with Russian organizations. He declined to comment about whether Flynn had followed the law and disclosed any payments that he received or whether he sought permission before he received them.
The official documents that do exist have been handed over and reviewed by Chaffetz and Cummings, and both have agreed that the information received is very unsettling. They hit a roadblock when more supporting documents were demanded; White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus insisted that the requested documents contained classified information and that he couldn’t turn them over. Trump’s Press Secretary insists that Trump did the right thing by dismissing Flynn when he found that he didn’t disclose dealings with a Russian ambassador to the Vice President.
There is very little question that Flynn didn’t disclose the information of visiting foreign agencies as he should have; what is in question is the money that he received. While Flynn insists that he did tell people about the payments, there is simply no proof that he isn’t lying.
It isn’t just about the money he received from Russia; it’s also about dealings connected to Turkey’s government. It is a systematic concealing of taking money from foreign governments and organizations, which are in strict opposition to the law that might end Flynn up in more trouble than he bargained for. Whether any of his actions will come back to haunt the Trump Administration is doubtful. It appears that he was taking money on his own without any permission or authorization. But if Flynn thought his troubles were over, he might just want to rethink his future. It looks like there is going to be much more legal action coming down the pipeline.