Michael Flynn Broke Law By Refusing To Disclose Russian Payments On Security Forms

[paralleluniverse]

Karma is a bitch.

LOCK HIM UP.

WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, may have violated federal law by not fully disclosing his business dealings with Russia when seeking a security clearance to work in the White House, top House oversight lawmakers from both parties asserted on Tuesday.

The revelation came after Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah and chairman of the House oversight committee, and other lawmakers on the panel examined classified documents related to Mr. Flynn, including a form he filled out in January 2016 to receive his security clearance. The form is known as an SF-86 and is required by anyone in the government who handles classified information.

As part of the review, Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the committee’s senior Democrat, said Mr. Flynn did not disclose in those documents payments totaling more than $45,000 that he received from the Russian government for giving a speech in Moscow in 2015, among others.

The development is the latest trouble for Mr. Flynn, who also did not disclose payments from Russian-linked entities on a financial disclosure form that the Trump administration released in late March. Earlier in March, Mr. Flynn filed papers acknowledging that he worked as a foreign agent last year representing the interests of the Turkish government, causing another uproar and more unfavorable headlines for the Trump administration.

Mr. Flynn was forced out as national security adviser in February after revelations that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials about his conversations last year with the Russian ambassador to the United States. Ten weeks later, he continues to be a distraction for the White House.

Mr. Chaffetz said Mr. Flynn appeared to have inappropriately accepted payments from companies linked to Russia without first getting required approval from the Pentagon and the State Department. Such payments might violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits former military officers like Mr. Flynn — a retired three-star Army general — from receiving money from a foreign government without consent from Congress.

“As a former military officer, you simply cannot take money from Russia, Turkey or anybody else,” Mr. Chaffetz said. “And it appears as if he did take that money. It was inappropriate, and there are repercussions for a violation of law.”

Robert Kelner, Mr. Flynn’s lawyer, played down the significance of the allegations. He did not comment on the committee’s charge that Mr. Flynn had failed to disclose the information on the security forms.

In a statement, Mr. Kelner said that Mr. Flynn had notified the Defense Intelligence Agency, which Mr. Flynn once led, that he was taking the 2015 trip to Russia. He received a security briefing from agency officials before he left, which is customary for former top agency officials when they travel overseas.

In addition to making the speech on that trip — for which he received the $45,000 fee from RT, formerly known as Russia Today, a Kremlin-backed news network — Mr. Flynn attended the network’s lavish anniversary dinner and was photographed sitting at the elbow of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/u...ts-russia.html

[Deleted]

Keep beating that dead horse.

[Skroe]

Keep beating that dead horse.

Uh-huh. It is now almost May 2017, and Trump-Russia has grown even worse. Every week, one to two stories that darken it.

Exactly at what point is this supposed to go away? Can you give me an end date? June? September? A year from now?

It took two years to nail Nixon on Watergate. We're patient.

[Belize]

Keep beating that dead horse.

Hey, we can't let the GOP have all the fun.

Those 7 Benghazi and however many email hearings looked like a blast!

Or did you forget about that particular horse

[TZucchini]

Man. If this guy only did one-tenth of what Hillary did...

[Zoibert the Bear]

This is fake news people, FAKE NEWS made up by a bunch of losers and betas.

[paralleluniverse]

Keep beating that dead horse.

It's not a dead horse.

Flynn clearly committed a crime and could be charged with a crime. That's why he demanded immunity to testify.

Trump appointed him National Security Advisor and is still trying to protect this criminal. He's also explicitly connected to TrumpRussia.

This is a live issue.

[TZucchini]

Keep beating that dead horse.

Are you kidding? Do you think Flynn's actions were appropriate? Do you think they were legal?

It's not a fucking sports team. You're allowed to criticize people when they fuck up.

[Cybran]

The left are wasting political capital on more dead ends. I guess they don't want to govern ever again.

[Belize]

It will be interesting if Russia really just becomes a Benghazi style nontroversy.

With Republicans dragging their feet as much as they are? I wouldn't be surprised.

[Zoibert the Bear]

The left are wasting political capital on more dead ends. I guess they don't want to govern ever again.

They're just a herd of screaming nobodies that keep wasting resources beating dead horses. RED FLAG.

[TZucchini]

The left are wasting political capital on more dead ends. I guess they don't want to govern ever again.

A clear violation of federal law is a dead end?

"I see no data to support the notion that Gen. Flynn complied with the law," Chaffetz said.

Chaffetz is a leftie?

[Redwyrm]

Republican response

[alexw]

A clear violation of federal law is a dead end?

"I see no data to support the notion that Gen. Flynn complied with the law," Chaffetz said.

Chaffetz is a leftie?

Now the next thing to do is apply pressure and get Flynn to squeal like a pig. "What do you know, and who else was involved?"

[Deleted]

Uh-huh. It is now almost May 2017, and Trump-Russia has grown even worse. Every week, one to two stories that darken it.

Exactly at what point is this supposed to go away? Can you give me an end date? June? September? A year from now?

It took two years to nail Nixon on Watergate. We're patient.

Let's talk again in a year and see how relevant your conspiracy theories are by then.

[ati87]

Keep beating that dead horse.

Not accepting Obama was born in the US is beating a dead horse

Benghazi was beating a dead horse

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...probes-so-far/

The Trump campaign and Russia ties however have more new developments every 2 weeks then 30 years of Clinton ''scandal'' and 8 years of Obama ''scandal'' (read no scandals)

[Toppy]

Let's talk again in a year and see how relevant your conspiracy theories are by then.

The amount of delusion is hillarious.

Like here with this Flynn, its not longer a question of "if". We are well beyond that. Its now a question of "How much?"

[ati87]

Let's talk again in a year and see how relevant your conspiracy theories are by then.

and it could be eventually proven that the russian ties have been limited to a few random guys (those that we currently know of)

But that does not mean it's beating a dead horse dude, for it to be a dead horse both sides need to conclude that the campaign in general had no ties and no wrong doing and then democrats need to investigate this another dozen times.

Where are you from? if you;'re american it doesn't look like you could pass the extreme vetting processes of president trump.

[Shadowferal]

There's a reason why he wanted to cop a plea deal granting immunity...

[Shalcker]

The left are wasting political capital on more dead ends. I guess they don't want to govern ever again.

There must be fire somewhere with all the smoke!!! Let's bet all our political capital on that!!! /s