Former national security adviser Michael Flynn lied to Defense Department officials last year when he denied receiving payments from foreign entities, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings asserted on Monday.
“[T]he Oversight Committee has in our possession documents that appear to indicate that General Flynn lied to the investigators who interviewed him in 2016 as part of his security clearance renewal,” Cummings wrote in a letter to Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz.
Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the committee, urged Chaffetz in the letter to subpoena the White House for records it has regarding Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The letter is the latest in a serious of damning blows against Flynn. On Monday, his lawyer informed the Senate Intelligence Committee that the retired lieutenant general would not be providing documents for its investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
Flynn said he will plead the Fifth if necessary to avoid providing any information to the committee.
In his letter, Cummings referenced a report of investigation conducted by the Pentagon on March 14, 2016.
The report showed that Flynn told investigators conducting his five-year security clearance review that he was paid by “U.S. companies” to attend a Dec. 2015 gala hosted by RT, the Russia-owned media outlet.
Flynn sat next to Russian president Vladimir Putin at the event. His speakers’ bureau was paid $45,000 for the event. After commissions, Flynn received more than $33,000 for his visit.
Cummings says that a Pentagon report shows that Flynn submitted his security clearance application on Jan. 2016. In an interview with Defense Department officials on Feb. 11, 2016, Flynn said he “has not received any benefit from a foreign country.”
But Cummings asserts that a payment from RT is essentially a payment from the Russian government. He also noted that the media outlet paid Flynn directly for airfare and for his hotel stay in Moscow.
Cummings also pointed to a Nov. 13, 2015, email from an RT analyst to Flynn’s speakers’ bureau, Leading Authorities.
“We will be covering the payments of General Flynn’s fees,” the analyst wrote.
“General Flynn had a duty to be truthful on his security clearance renewal form and during his interview with security clearance investigators,” Cummings wrote in the letter.
