Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings revealed former National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn likely broke the law after failing to disclose payments from Russia on his background check forms.
"I see no evidence or no data to support the notion that General Flynn complied with the law," Chaffetz said. "He was supposed to seek permission and receive permission from both the secretary of state and the secretary of the Army prior to traveling to Russia to not only accept that payment, but to engage in that activity...No former military officer is allowed to accept payments from a foreign government, and my guess is this is probably not the first time this has happened."
Three weeks ago, Flynn's attorneys hinted at a request for immunity in exchange for Congressional testimony. Chaffetz hit back at the notion, saying immunity should not be offered during an ongoing investigation of the Russia matter.
Flynn as fired earlier this year after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about conversations with the Russian ambassador. At the time of his dismissal, the White House cited a breach of trust and a "series of questionable instances."
"We got to a point not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue with a level of trust between the president and General Flynn had eroded to the point where he felt he had to make a change. The president was very concerned that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at the time. "The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation in a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for General Flynn's resignation."
It is becoming increasingly clear what those other questionable instances may have been.
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