Flynn was warned against accepting foreign payments: Pentagon

Former US national security adviser Michael Flynn was warned by the Defense Department's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) against accepting foreign payments as he entered retirement.

In a letter to Flynn from the DIA in 2014, the agency had advised him that it is illegal for former military officers to accept payment from a foreign government without prior approval, according to new documents released Thursday by the House Oversight Committee in Congress.

“Accordingly, if you are ever in a position where you would receive an emolument from a foreign government or from an entity that might be controlled by a foreign government, be sure to obtain advance approval from the Army prior to acceptance,” Flynn was told, according to a letter written by the Department of Defense's acting inspector general to the House Oversight Committee.

Flynn, a retired US Army lieutenant general and former DIA chief, is under formal investigation by the Pentagon for his apparently undisclosed paid speaking engagements in Russia.

On Tuesday, US Representatives Elijah Cummings and Jason Chaffetz, two members on the oversight committee, said Flynn may have broken the law by not disclosing payments he received from Russian entities.

“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 Chaffetz.

The disclosure forms show that Flynn earned at least $1.3 million in 2016, including more than $827,000 through his consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group.

“These documents raise grave questions about why General Flynn concealed the payments he received from foreign sources after he was warned explicitly by the Pentagon,” said Cummings.

“Our next step is to get the documents we are seeking from the White House so we can complete our investigation. I thank the Department of Defense for providing us with unclassified versions of these documents,” he added.

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

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.

Read more:

• Trump-Congress tensions soar over Flynn
• Flynn failed to disclose alleged Russia payments

The high-ranking official was forced to resign in February from his position as Trump's first national security adviser 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.

Flynn could face criminal prosecution for violating a constitutional ban on foreign payments to retired military officers. 

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