Flynn may have broken law over payments from Russia, Turkey: Oversight Committee

Tensions have escalated between the White House and US Congress as the likelihood of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s violation of law by receiving money from foreign governments heightens.

Top lawmakers on the US House Oversight Committee said on Tuesday that on the basis of reviewing documents supplied by the Defense Department, Flynn may have broken the law by taking money from Russia and Turkey without permission.

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

"Personally, I see no data to support the notion that General Flynn complied with the law," he added.

Elijah Cummings, a ranking Democratic on the committee, also confirmed that the retired US Army general had broken the law by declining to disclose tens of thousands of dollars in payments from Moscow and Ankara in his application forms to renew his security clearance.

There is “no evidence in the documents that he reported funds he received for his trip” and “no evidence he sought permission to obtain these funds from a foreign source,” Cummings said.

Last month, Flynn filed an amended disclosure of payments for speeches from three Russian-linked companies, including the state-backed network RT, without providing further records related to the payments.

The high-ranking official was forced to resign in February from his position as first national security adviser to Trump after it was revealed that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador to the US in late December.

The conversation, which took place before Trump’s inauguration, centered on lifting then-President Barack Obama’s sanctions against Russia. Any discussion of sanctions at that time would have amounted to a breach of US law banning private citizens from engaging in foreign policy.

The ouster came as the FBI as well as the Senate and House intelligence committees were investigating Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and any possible ties between Trump's associates and Moscow.

'No more Flynn documents!' 

Meanwhile, Trump’s administration also denied a request from the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday for more information on payments that Flynn had received from foreign governments.

Marc Short, the legislative affairs director at the White House, said the requested documents were not in possession of the Oval Office because they involved Flynn's activity prior to Trump’s inauguration on January 20 and during the presidential campaigns.

"It is unclear how such documents would be relevant to the stated purpose of the committee's review, which according to your letter is to examine Lieutenant General Flynn's disclosure of payments related to activities that occurred in 2015 and 2016, prior to his service in the White House," Short said in a letter to committee leaders.

The committee has sent additional requests for information about Flynn to the White House, the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Flynn's tenure of just 24 days as national security advisor is the shortest in the history of the office. The official had a history of making incendiary and Islamophobic statements that have drawn criticism from his own military peers.

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