The top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said Thursday that he would be concerned by the prospect of President-elect Trump tapping retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as his national security adviser because of his temperament, as well as his views on Turkey and Russia.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said at the Defense One Summit in Washington that he is worried Flynn would serve as a sort-of echo chamber for Trump’s views on Russia.
“It concerns me a great deal that the president-elect may be getting advice that reinforces his view of Putin,” Schiff said, according to a Defense One report.
While Flynn was serving as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, he reportedly sat near Russian President Vladimir Putin at a 2015 dinner and said he talked about how the U.S. and Russia should have a closer relationship.
Schiff also took issue with Flynn’s support of sending Muhammed Fethullah Gulen, who many in Turkey speculate helped organize this year’s coup attempt, back to Turkey where he would face possible prison time. The Obama administration has refused the extradition request, saying that there is no evidence linking Gulen to the coup.
Days after Flynn wrote that op-ed, the Daily Caller reported that the consulting firm Flynn founded has been hired by a company with ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Flynn praised Erdogan in the op-ed without disclosing the contract.
More broadly, Schiff said he has “grave concerns” about Trump’s rejection of the intelligence community, which stem from Trump’s assertion that “maybe there was no hacking” of the election by Russia despite the belief among the intelligence workforce that Russia meddled in the election outcome.
“There is substantial concern about whether he respects, one, the process and, two, the personnel of the IC, especially when they tell him things that he doesn’t want to hear,” Schiff said. “As DNI Clapper said today, there is truly no question that Russia meddled.”
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told lawmakers on Thursday that he had given his letter of resignation to the Obama administration. Senators urged Trump to select his head of national intelligence quickly to help direct the hiring of other officials in the intelligence community.
