A $450,000 in illegal foreign payments from Turkey and Russia have been charged against Mike Flynn.
A Brief History Of Mike Flynn
Politico’s report from May 8, 2017:
During their meeting in the Oval Office two days after the election, former president Barack Obama warned then-president-elect Donald Trump about Michael Flynn, current and former administration officials confirmed.
Even though the Politico article only mentions Flynn’s “problematic behavior” and “erratic ideas,” one can now look back and see that Obama surely knew that the military’s top spy was accepting payments from two rival nations, Russia and Turkey, and would do so if Trump hired Flynn. Flynn was fired from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency by the Obama administration (!).
The Pentagon accuses Flynn of accepting unauthorized foreign payments.
Flynn was given a citation by the Pentagon today for taking $450,000 in unreported payments, and the Pentagon demanded that money be returned. The fact that Flynn has escaped legal trouble is astonishing. According to the Washington Post:
The Defense Department inspector general cited retired Army general Michael Flynn, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, for failing to disclose lucrative speaking engagements and other business agreements with foreign organizations, leading the American government to pursue tens of thousands of dollars in penalties against him, according to documents.
Investigators found no evidence that Flynn had requested government approval prior to accepting nearly $450,000 from Turkish and Russian interests in 2015, including for an appearance in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin. In a memo sent to the Army in January 2021 that was made public on Thursday thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, their conclusions are in-depth.
A half-million-dollar payment (rounding up) between two nations with corrupt leaders who occasionally cooperated—is that not a two-bit spy? It is extremely difficult to comprehend how a DoD employee could simply show up at a dinner with Putin’s side without any paperwork whatsoever. His hatred for Obama must have been close to a sickness because it undoubtedly outweighed any patriotism. In 2015, Putin had already occupied Crimea, been expelled from the G-8, and received Western support. Any military officer would undoubtedly seek presidential approval, and the video would never be returned.
Obama would not have simply advised Trump not to hire him. Obama would have offered at least a partial justification—payments from sources in Turkey and Russia. It’s interesting that Trump appointed Flynn as the American National Security Advisor in addition to hiring him. Days could be spent speculating about Trump’s motivations, and we know he told Comey to be gentle with Flynn because he was such a good guy.
However, it is also noteworthy that the Defense Department didn’t cite Flynn and disclose the startling figure until 2022, during the Biden administration. It is astounding that Flynn hasn’t been jailed or even court-martialed after all this time and hasn’t had his retirement benefits taken away.
Maybe this is the start of that necessary effort.
A day without learning, in the opinion of Jason Miciak, is a day not lived. He is an attorney, author, political writer, and features writer. He is a dual citizen who was born in Canada and spent his adolescence and college years there. Since then, he has lived in seven states. He now enjoys being a single father to a young girl and writes from the Gulf Coast beaches. He enjoys making his own flower pots, cooking, and studying non-mathematical aspects of quantum mechanics and cosmology as well as scientific philosophy and religion. For speaking engagements or any other issues, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
