White House says former national security adviser failed disclose income from Russian companies.
Michael Flynn,
President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, failed to
disclose payments from a Russian television network and a second firm
linked to Russia in a February financial disclosure form, according to
documents released by the White House on Saturday.
In
a financial disclosure form signed by Flynn on March 31, the former
White House official listed speaking engagements to Russian entities,
including the Kremlin-funded RT TV and Volga-Dnepr Airlines.
The
form does not say how much Flynn was paid but the speeches are in a
section titled “sources of compensation exceeding $5,000 in a year.”
The
speeches were not included in a form that Flynn signed electronically
on February 11, which the White House also released on Saturday.
The
discrepancy on reporting income linked to Russia could add to Flynn’s
legal woes. The retired general, who was forced to resign after only 24
days, is under scrutiny for his contacts with Russian officials in a
wider investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential
election.
He
has requested immunity if he testifies before the intelligence
committees of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, his
lawyer, Robert Kelner, said on Thursday.
Flynn
was forced out on Feb. 13 for failing to disclose talks with Russian
Ambassador Sergei Kislyak about U.S. sanctions on Moscow and misleading
Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations, which occurred before
Trump took office.
Trump, a Republican, said in a tweet that
Democrats were pursuing investigations because they were upset about his
Nov. 8 victory over their party’s candidate, Hillary Clinton.
Congressional
committees and the FBI are looking into allegations by U.S.
intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the election campaign.
The
Russian government has denied the allegations and denied that it hacked
emails of Democratic groups and released information to tip the
election toward Trump, who has called for better U.S. relations with
Moscow.
