But Flynn’s work potentially benefiting Turkey meant he was

16 May But Flynn’s work potentially benefiting Turkey meant he was

Flynn told Trump team he might register as a foreign agent

canada goose coats on sale Attorneys for Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, informed the incoming White House legal counsel during the transition that Flynn might need to register with the government as a foreign agent a phone call that raised no alarms within Trump’s team, despite the unusual circumstance of having a top national security post filled by someone whose work may have benefited a foreign government. canada goose coats on sale

canada goose clearance sale The firm Flynn headed, Flynn Intel official canada goose outlet Group, was hired last year when Flynn was an adviser to canada goose victoria parka outlet the Trump campaign by the Netherlands based firm Inovo BV, which is owned by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin. Alptekin has close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. canada goose clearance sale

canada goose black friday sale Although the contract ended after the election, new details about the work canada goose outlet sale Flynn did for Inovo resurrect the controversy over his short tenure as Trump’s top national security aide. canada goose black friday sale

buy canada goose jacket cheap The national security canada goose outlet canada adviser is supposed to canada goose outlet store new york be an honest broker within the canada goose coats uk executive branch, pulling together military and diplomatic options for the president so he can decide what policy to pursue. But Flynn’s work potentially benefiting Turkey meant he was representing the interests of a country other than the United States at the same time he was advising Trump on foreign policy during the https://www.canadagoosejacketonlines.ca election. buy canada goose jacket cheap

Flynn’s firm was paid more than $500,000 by Inovo for public relations and research work, including looking into exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who resides in Pennsylvania. His extradition is being sought by Turkey, which has accused him of fomenting a coup attempt last year.

Flynn wrote an op ed on Nov.8 for the Hill newspaper in which he called for Gulen’s extradition a controversial diplomatic issue for the United States. and Turkey is Fethullah Glen, a shady Islamic mullah residing in Pennsylvania whom canada goose outlet washington dc former president Clinton once called his ‘friend’ in a well circulated video,” Flynn wrote.

Canada Goose sale “Glen portrays himself as a moderate, but he is in fact a radical Islamist,” he wrote. Canada Goose sale

canada goose clearance Flynn resigned from his White House post last month after just 24 days on the job amid reports he misled Vice President Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. canada goose clearance

But the disclosures this week about Flynn’s ties to Turkey underscore how the specter of the controversial retired lieutenant canada goose outlet ottawa general still hangs over the White canada goose outlet parka House.

Canada Goose Outlet On Tuesday, Flynn filed paperwork with the Justice Department identifying himself as a foreign agent who was paid last year to do work that could benefit the Turkish government. Canada Goose Outlet

cheap Canada Goose Then on Friday it was revealed that Flynn’s canada goose outlet legit attorneys twice told Trump’s legal counsel team of his possible plans to register as a foreign agent once in a conversation with Don McGahn, Trump’s counsel, before the inauguration canada goose outlet website legit and then in a conversation with another member of the White House legal team during the administration’s early days, someone with knowledge of the situation told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. cheap Canada Goose

(Daron Taylor,Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post)

A White House official confirmed both calls, the first of which was reported by the Associated Press, but said that Flynn’s attorneys had simply been seeking guidance, which Trump’s legal canada goose outlet shop team said it was unable to provide.

canadian goose jacket Trump was never canada goose outlet michigan informed that his top national security pick felt he might need to register as a foreign agent, the White House said Friday. canadian goose jacket

Canada Goose Jackets Dan Pickard, a partner at Wiley Rein and an expert in the Foreign Agents Registration Act, under which Flynn registered, said it is unusual but not unheard of for a senior campaign official to also be registered as an agent of a canada goose outlet foreign government. Canada Goose Jackets

canada goose store “I’ve been aware of people who are registered under FARA being involved at relatively senior levels of a campaign, but in my experience that’s more the exception than the rule,” said Pickard, adding that the legal burden of complying canada goose outlet store montreal with FARA “is relatively modest.” canada goose store

FARA was passed in the run up to World War II as a means of making pro Germany activists acknowledge whether they were receiving financial support from that country.

For some in Washington, the political appearance of being a paid agent of a foreign government can be more problematic than the actual legal issues, according to canada goose jacket outlet uk others well versed in the law.

Some political campaigns have asked FARA registrants in the past to notify them of their status if they attend a fundraiser, and some operatives are wary of being publicly associated with a foreign government.

The controversy over canada goose outlet london Flynn’s ties to Turkey illustrate why.

canada goose deals Nearly four canada goose kensington parka uk weeks after his departure, the White House still can’t seem canada goose outlet woodbury to escape Flynn. canada goose deals

In a week when the administration is making its biggest legislative push yet, White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s Friday afternoon news conference was yet again overshadowed by unflattering reports about Flynn with Spicer devoting precious time to defending a staffer who no longer even works for the canada goose stockists uk administration.

“The burden is on the individual to seek the legal advice or professional expertise to decide what they have to file and canada goose outlet in usa not,” Spicer said, parsing his explanation as to how someone who might have had to register as a foreign agent was hired as national security adviser.

Canada Goose online “It’s not up to the transition attorney to go through someone’s livelihood and determine what they need to seek,” Spicer said. canada goose factory outlet toronto location “They were given the proper legal advice at the time, which was to seek expertise in that matter.” Canada Goose online

buy canada goose jacket On Thursday evening, in canada goose outlet jackets an interview with Pence, Fox News’s Bret Baier pressed the vice president on reports that Flynn had registered as a foreign agent lobbying, essentially, on behalf of the Turkish government. buy canada goose jacket

“Well, let me say, hearing that story today was the first I heard of it, and I fully support the decision that President Trump made to ask for General Flynn’s resignation,” Pence said.”The first I heard of it, and I think it is an affirmation of the President’s decision to ask General Flynn to resign.”

canada goose However, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent Pence a letter in November asking for more information on Flynn’s “apparent conflicts of interest” because of his and his firm’s lobbying work, specifically mentioning Flynn’s work in Turkey canada goose.