WASHINGTON--The Pentagon inspector general has launched an investigation into whether Michael Flynn, U.S. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, accepted money from foreign entities without the required approval, according to a letter released by House Democrats on Thursday.
The new probe compounds the legal problems Flynn faces for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state-run Russia Today (RT) television network and a firm owned by a Turkish businessman after the former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) director retired as an Army lieutenant general in 2014.
Senior lawmakers said this week that Flynn likely broke the law by failing to request and receive permission to accept $45,000 to speak at a 2015 RT gala dinner at which he sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin. If substantiated, such a failure would violate regulations rooted in the Constitution that bar current and retired military officers from accepting "emoluments" from foreign powers, the letter said.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Thursday that the inspector general's probe was appropriate. "If they think there's wrongdoing, then the department's inspector general should look into that," he said.
Spicer said Flynn did not undergo a security review before he was named Trump's first national security adviser. "Why would you rerun a background check on someone who was the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency that had and did maintain a high-level security clearance?" he said.
However, a former senior White House official familiar with ethics and security clearance issues said that during the administration of former President Barack Obama, the White House Counsel's office always conducted its own background investigations of candidates for senior White House jobs, even if they already held security clearances. These reviews included questionnaires and interviews, and would have included issues such as whether the candidate had drug problems, had hired prostitutes, or had personal or financial problems, the former official said.
Flynn is also the subject of congressional probes into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that U.S. intelligence agencies have said was intended to sway the vote in favour of Trump, the Republican candidate, over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Russia denies the allegation.
The Defense Department inspector general is investigating whether Flynn "failed to obtain required approval prior to receiving any emolument from a foreign government," according to an April 11 letter released by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. If substantiated, such a failure would violate military regulations that apply a constitutional provision that bars current and retired officers from accepting "emoluments" from foreign powers, the letter said.
Representative Elijah Cummings, the House committee's top Democrat, released other Defense Department documents on Thursday showing that the DIA found no evidence that Flynn requested permission to accept foreign funds, despite a 2014 warning against taking such payments.
