House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz and ranking member Elijah Cummings held a press conference this morning where they confirmed that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn broke the law by not disclosing payments he received from foreign governments.
After viewing classified documents that included his application to renew his security clearance, Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said there was “no evidence” that Flynn made the appropriate disclosures about payments he received from abroad.
“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,” Chaffetz said, noting that the committee still needed to reach out to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense for additional information.
Flynn is accused of failing to disclose the payments he received when applying for security clearance, a significant offense. Flynn received payments from the Russian and Turkish governments and only just recently registered as a foreign agent, retroactively acknowledging his work as a lobbyist for Turkey.
Facing questions at today's press briefing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer essentially said the White House was not responsible for vetting Flynn. The White House has also refused to turn over documents “referring or relating to Lieutenant General Flynn’s contacts with foreign nationals.”
So much for "extreme vetting."
Flynn was acting as a foreign agent and taking money from foreign governments the entire time he was advising the Trump campaign, accompanying Trump during classified intelligence briefings, and advising Trump in the White House with the highest level of security clearance. Flynn was serving as a foreign agent at the same time he appeared at the 2016 Republican convention where he led a chant to "lock her (Clinton) up."
It's time to lock him up.