White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that President Trump may not have been aware that Mike Flynn was registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent at the time he was named national security adviser.
“I don’t believe that that was known. I would refer you to Gen. Flynn and to the Department of Justice in terms of the filings that have been made,” Spicer told reporters.
Documents made public earlier this week revealed that Flynn and his lobbying firm were registered for lobbying last summer and fall that “could be construed to have principally benefitted” the Turkish government. The paperwork was filed by an attorney representing the ousted national security adviser.
“I don’t know what was discussed prior to the appointment in terms of his background, his resume, his client base,” Spicer said. “From what I have read, he has filed the appropriate forms with the Department of Justice and you should ask him and subsequently them if you have any questions about his specific filing,” he added.
The top Trump spokesman also said he was “not aware” of how involved Flynn was in crafting U.S. foreign policy toward Turkey during his tenure as national security adviser.
“You can contact the National Security Council on that,” he told reporters.
Spicer declined to speculate on whether Trump would still have asked Flynn to serve in his administration had he been aware of his lobbying activities at the time.
