Trump team knew Michael Flynn might register as a foreign agent for Turkey work
WASHINGTON — A lawyer for former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn told the Trump transition team before President Trump took office that Flynn might have to register as a foreign agent because of his work for a Turkish client.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Friday said that Flynn's representative reached out to the transition team about potentially registering with the Justice Department because his lobbying work may have benefited the government of Turkey, but Spicer said the transition lawyer viewed it as a personal matter and not an issue for transition officials to decide.
Spicer also rejected the notion that Flynn's lobbying work for a client with ties to Turkey's government should have raised red flags about Flynn's appointment as Trump's top national security adviser. He said Flynn had "impeccable credentials" to serve in that role.
"We trust people to fill out the appropriate forms," Spicer added, when asked whether other Trump advisers also might be lobbying on behalf of foreign governments.
Trump fired Flynn last month for making misleading statements to Vice President Pence and others about his discussions with Russia's ambassador to the United States.
But documents Flynn filed this week with the Justice Department raised fresh questions about his ties to the Turkish government, even as he was serving as top adviser to Trump's presidential campaign. His now-shuttered firm, Flynn Intel Group, earned $530,000 last year for work on behalf of Inovo BV, a Dutch firm, whose Turkish founder has ties to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As part of its contract, the firm undertook research into an Erdogan political opponent, Fetulleh Gulen, an Islamic cleric who lives in exile in rural Pennsylvania.
On Election Day, The Hill newspaper published a Flynn op-ed that criticized Gulen and said the United States should no longer provide a safe haven to him.
Flynn's work on behalf of Inovo had been the subject of earlier news reports. He also disclosed the work in lobbying documents filed with Congress. But he did not register as a foreign agent until this week and retroactively provided details about the nature of Flynn Intel's work and how much his firm earned.
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Turkish client paid $530,000 to Michael Flynn's consulting firm
This week, Spicer said Trump had been unaware of Flynn's foreign agent work. In an interview Thursday with Fox News, Pence also said he did not learn of Flynn's foreign-agent registration until this week. The revelation, Pence said, was "an affirmation of the president's decision to ask General Flynn to resign."
Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, noted Friday that he had written to Pence three months ago, raising questions about Flynn's work on behalf of Turkish interests.
"If the Vice President had heeded my warnings, it’s clear now he could have prevented the problems that occurred with Lt. General Flynn," Cummings said in a statement.
