Questions Abound Over Flynn Lobbying for Turkey скачать в хорошем качестве

Questions Abound Over Flynn Lobbying for Turkey

(10 Mar 2017) Lawyers for retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn told President Donald Trump's transition team before the inauguration that Flynn might need to register with the government as a foreign agent, but Trump was not aware of the possible move, the White House said Friday. The disclosure by White House officials confirms the Trump transition team was aware of the situation involving the president's pick for a top national security post either before he joined the government or soon afterward. But the White House's acknowledgement raised new questions about whether Trump's transition team, and later, his White House lawyers, fully vetted Flynn after being informed about his possible filing as a foreign agent for his lobbying during the presidential campaign that may have benefited the government of Turkey. White House spokesman Sean Spicer dismissed questions about whether the information should have given the transition team pause, saying Flynn had "impeccable credentials." Trump fired Flynn last month after less than a month on the job saying he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. Spicer confirmed that Flynn's personal lawyer contacted Trump transition attorneys before the inauguration about the possible filing. But he added that Flynn's representative only asked for guidance and did not provide more details about the lobbying work or Flynn's business dealings. Spicer said Flynn's decision whether to file as a foreign agent was a personal matter that his own attorney would need to handle. Among those told of Flynn's lobbying work was Don McGahn, Trump's campaign lawyer who served in the transition and later became White House counsel, said a person with direct knowledge of the conversations between Flynn's representatives and the transition team. That person, who was not authorized to describe confidential conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity, said that during discussions after the inauguration White House lawyers were told Flynn was moving ahead with plans to file as a foreign agent. On Thursday, Spicer had said he did not believe Trump had been told of Flynn's work as a foreign agent. Later that day, Vice President Mike Pence said he was unaware of Flynn's foreign agent work until this week. Flynn and his firm, Flynn Intel Group Inc., filed paperwork this week with the Justice Department formally identifying him as a foreign agent and acknowledging that his work for a company owned by a Turkish businessman "could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey." In the filings with the Justice Department's Foreign Agent Registration Unit, Flynn and his company described $530,000 worth of lobbying before Election Day on behalf of Inovo BV, a Dutch-based company owned by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin. The lobbying occurred from August through November while Flynn was a top Trump campaign adviser. In an interview with the AP, Alptekin said Flynn and his firm filed the registration after pressure from Justice Department officials. Alptekin said he disagreed with the decision to register. He also said he had asked for some of his money back. Flynn's registration comes as he has drawn scrutiny from the FBI for his contacts with Russian officials. Through a spokesman, Flynn declined to discuss the registration. In the filing, his attorney said the lobbying contract quickly ended after Trump's election in November. "There's nothing nefarious about doing anything that's legal as long as the proper paperwork is filed," Spicer said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...