WASHINGTON: The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform told Vice President-elect Mike Pence in a November letter that the man Donald Trump had chosen to be his national security adviser was lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by McClatchy, contradicts White House claims that neither Pence nor Trump knew of Flynn’s lobbying until it was revealed in a Justice Department filing this week.
In the letter, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked Pence, then the leader of Trump’s transition team, for information regarding Michael Flynn’s business interests and statements regarding potential conflicts of interests.
Cummings said Flynn’s work for Turkey and a speech Flynn gave in Russia could violate Trump for America’s code of ethics if Flynn was advising Trump on policy related to those two nations. Flynn was Trump’s principal foreign policy adviser during the campaign.
“Lt. Gen. Flynn’s involvement in advising Mr. Trump on matters relating to Turkey or Russia — including attending classified briefings on those matters — could violate the Trump for America, Inc. Code of Ethical Conduct,” Cummings wrote.
Cummings’ letter, which was dated Nov. 18, the day after Trump announced that Flynn would be his national security adviser, adds to the mystery surrounding Flynn’s short time in the White House.
Trump fired Flynn on Feb. 13 for offering a misleading account to Pence of a conversation he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. But that firing came three weeks after the Justice Department had warned the White House that Flynn’s conversation with Kislyak had been monitored and that a transcript contradicted Pence’s televised account of what Flynn had told him had been discussed.
Trump moved against Flynn only after the Washington Post revealed the Justice Department warning a few hours earlier.
Flynn’s lobbying for Turkey came to light this week when he belatedly registered with the Justice Department’s Foreign Agent Registration Unit and acknowledged that he was paid $530,000 for work from August to November that might have benefited Turkey’s government.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump was unaware of Flynn’s lobbying when he named him national security adviser. Pence told Fox News that he heard about Flynn’s work for Turkey only after Flynn’s Justice Department filing this week.
But Cummings’ letter contradicts both versions.
Pence’s office did not respond to a request for comment. On Friday, Spicer acknowledged that Flynn’s attorney had raised a possibility of filing as a lobbyist with the transition team but that officials there did not advise him what to do.
“It’s a business matter, it’s not something that would be appropriate for a government entity to give someone guidance on when they should file as an individual,” Spicer said.
U.S. citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments or political entities must register with the Justice Department, according to the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Not registering is a felony.
Spicer said Flynn’s work was acceptable because it was done before he worked for the federal government. But Cummings’ letter suggested that Flynn was something other than a private citizen because he was receiving classified briefings as a Trump adviser.
Flynn was believed to have been an advocate for Trump’s campaign position that a Trump administration would consider lifting sanctions that the Obama administration had imposed on Russia in retaliation for Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.