Ex-Trump aide likely afoul of foreign payments law

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, likely flouted the law by receiving unauthorized payments from foreign countries, a leading lawmaker said Tuesday.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told reporters at the Capitol that as a former military officer, Flynn could not just "take money from Russia, Turkey or anybody else".

"It appears as if he did take that money. It was inappropriate, and there are repercussions for the violation of law," the Republican lawmaker said.

As a retired army general, Flynn was legally obligated to seek permission from the secretary of state and the secretary of the army before receiving payments from foreign countries.

But Chaffetz and the panel's ranking Democrat, Representative Elijah Cummings, said he did not comply. That could result in up to five years in prison, Cummings said.

Flynn previously sought immunity for any wrongdoing in exchange for providing testimony in an investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia. But lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee rejected the appeal, calling it extremely premature.

Flynn served in the Trump administration for just 23 days before he was forced out of office after misleading top administration officials, including the vice president, about his his links to Russian officials.

The House Oversight Committee met Tuesday morning to review classified Pentagon documents concerning Flynn.

A request to the White House for similar documents was denied outright, Cummings said.

"The White House has refused to provide this committee with a single piece of paper in response to our bipartisan request, and that's simply unacceptable," he said.