Retired Army general and former national security adviser Mike Flynn was explicitly warned not to accept payments from foreign sources without approval, according to new documents released by the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday.
“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,” Cummings said in a release.
He also confirmed that the Inspector General for the Department of Defense is launching an internal investigation.
Cummings released a letter from December, 2014 from the Defense Intelligence Agency which was written in direct response to a request by Flynn, “regarding the ethics restrictions that apply to you after your retirement from the United States Army.”
The letter outlined the numerous restrictions Flynn faced for doing outside work or receiving payments from foreign governments, and explicitly warned him, “if you are ever in a position where you would receive and emolument from a foreign government, be sure to obtain advance approval from the Army prior to acceptance.”
Cummings also released a redacted letter from the Defense Intelligence Agency to the Oversight Committee dated April 7 of this year that explicitly said the DIA could not find any document where Flynn sought approval for foreign payments, or reported foreign payments.
Flynn’s attorney released a statement earlier this week saying his client “briefed the Defense Intelligence Agency, a component agency of (the Defense Department), extensively regarding the RT speaking event trip both before and after the trip, and he answered any questions that were posed by DIA concerning the trip during those briefings.”
On Wednesday, both Cummings and House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz said that despite numerous requests to agencies including the White House, they had not been able to produce any information that Flynn got proper approval for payments from foreign sources, or that he properly reported those payments.
Flynn received payment from Russia’s state-sponsored TV for making a speech in 2015. He was fired after serving as President Trump’s national security adviser, after the administration said he wasn’t honest about his dealings with Russian officials in a conversation with Vice President Pence.
In Thursday’s press conference, Cummings blasted Flynn saying he had “grave concerns” about the lack of disclosure, and said there was “not a shred” of evidence that Flynn had disclosed his payments. Cummings also blasted the White House for not turning over any documents in response to a request from the Oversight Committee.
“I honestly do not understand why the White House is covering up for Michael Flynn… after the president fired him for lying,” Cummings said. “They should be bending over backwards for us.”
“There is a paper trail that the White House does not want our committee to follow,” he added. “But let it be known we will follow it.”
