Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) just released three damning new documents on former Trump administration National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
The documents, provided by the Department of Defense, show that the Pentagon warned Flynn in 2014 that he could not legally take money from foreign governments without getting permission in advance.
The same documents also confirm that Flynn did not ask for permission before taking payments — emoluments — from Russia. Flynn, despite the warning, accepted the payments and failed to disclose them on his application for security clearance in 2016. He similarly failed to disclose his lobbying on behalf of the Turkish government.
“These documents raise grave questions about why General Flynn concealed the payments he received from foreign sources after he was warned explicitly by the Pentagon,” said Cummings, who is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
Rep. Cummings says no evidence that Flynn disclosed his payments or obtained permission to accept foreign payments https://t.co/T5uqoA85rO pic.twitter.com/r4U8meqDUY
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 27, 2017
According to Cummings, the new documents also contradict Flynn’s lawyer’s claim on Tuesday that Flynn actually had received proper permissions from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) before a trip to Moscow in December 2015.
“DIA did not locate any records referring or relating to LTG [Lieutenant General] Flynn’s receipt of money from a foreign source. … DIA did not locate any records of LTG Flynn seeking permission or approval for the receipt of money from a foreign source,” the letter says.
According to previously-released documents, Flynn was paid over $30,000 for a speech in Moscow at an event celebrating Russian propaganda outlet RT.
Cummings and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), chair of the House Oversight Committee, said on Tuesday that Flynn’s failure to disclose the payments on his security clearance application likely broke the law.
The Inspector General of the Department of Defense told the House Oversight Committee that they had launched their own investigation into whether Flynn had failed to receive the required approval before taking emoluments from foreign governments.
Cummings says the White House is “covering up for Michael Flynn … it makes the American people think the White House has something to hide” pic.twitter.com/Zq3VBN5wY9
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 27, 2017
Michael Flynn has been a continued source of controversy for the White House.
He resigned early in Trump’s administration after reporting surfaced on backchannel discussions he had conducted — and concealed — with the Russians prior to Trump’s inauguration. And in addition to the payments and dealings with Russia, Flynn also failed to disclose $530,000 his company received at the height of the Trump campaign for work benefiting the government of Turkey, which he retroactively registered as foreign lobbying last month.
Despite the mounting evidence of wrongdoing, the White House has been bullish in their support of Flynn. Even after Flynn’s resignation, President Donald Trump described him as a “wonderful man” who “has been treated very, very unfairly by the media.”
And earlier this week, the White House denied a bipartisan request for documents relating to Flynn and his position as National Security Adviser.
Speaking on Thursday, Cummings questioned the White House’s refusal to furnish the requested documents.
“I honestly do not understand why the White House is covering up for Michael Flynn. I don’t get it. After the president fired him for lying,” said Cummings. “It does not make any sense, and it makes the American people think the White House has something to hide.”