Oversight Committee Requests Sources And Amounts of Foreign Funding to Flynn for Trip to Moscow
Oversight Committee Requests Sources And Amounts of Foreign Funding to Flynn for Trip to Moscow
Pentagon Now Says No Evidence That Flynn Reported His Dinner with Putin—Or His Payment— In Possible Violation of Constitution
Washington, D.C. (Feb. 16, 2017)—Today, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter seeking documents regarding payments received by Lt. General Michael Flynn for his trip to Moscow in December 2015 to have dinner with Vladimir Putin in potential violation of the Constitution, as well as all other foreign payments.
"We are attempting to determine the amount Lieutenant General Flynn received for his appearance, the source of the funding, and whether he may have received payments from any other foreign sources for additional engagements," the Members wrote.
Cummings sent a letter to the Pentagon on February 1, 2017, along with other Ranking Members, requesting all documents submitted by Flynn to the Department of Defense regarding his trip to Moscow and any foreign payments he received. The Department of Defense warns its retired officers against accepting any direct or indirect payments from foreign governments or their agents because retired officers continue to hold offices of trust under the Constitution.
Just this week, the Army responded to Cummings' request in a letter reporting that, after a "thorough records search," the Department "has not found any documents" indicating that Flynn requested permission for this trip or reported the payments he received, as required by Defense Department regulations to comply with the Constitution.
Since his retirement in 2014, Flynn has made regular appearances on RT, which U.S. intelligence officials warn is the "Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet." Flynn publicly acknowledged that he was paid on at least one occasion to travel to Moscow and speak at a gala in December 2015, where he dined with Putin. Flynn stated that his payments were arranged through Leading Authorities, Inc. (LAI), but he has refused to disclose the amounts or sources of the payments.
In today's letter, Chaffetz and Cummings ask LAI to produce, by March 2, 2017, all documents and communications relating to Flynn's appearance at the event in Moscow in December 2015, information regarding any other speaking engagements or appearances he made through Leading Authorities, Inc., and a list of the amounts he was paid and the sources of funding for them.
Click here to read the letter.