The military is reviewing an investigation by the Department of Defense (DOD) internal watchdog into the international relations of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, an army spokesman confirmed to The Hill.
In a statement obtained via email, Army spokesman Colonel Cathy Wilkinson said, “The Acting Secretary of the Army has received the case for review from the DoD’s Inspector General.”
The review could yield tens of thousands of dollars in sanctions against Flynn, according to The Washington Post.
Dwrena Allen, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s Inspector General, told CNN in a statement that in April 2017, the watchdog began investigating a claim that Flynn “had failed to obtain the required military and State Department approval before receiving any compensation from a foreign government or foreign government-controlled entity. ”
The probe was placed on “suspended” or temporary suspension in June 2017 amid criminal charges against Flynn by the Justice Department, Allen told the news outlet. Allen went on to say that the DOJ allowed the watchdog to pick up his investigation after the first President Trump
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“On January 27, 2021, we closed our investigation against LTG Flynn and forwarded various administrative matters to the Acting Secretary of the Army for review and appropriate action,” she told the news outlet.
The investigation was centered around money Flynn received from Russian and Turkish entities after his retirement from the military in 2014, according to the Post, who first reported the referral.
The Post noted that the DOD can “pursue debt recovery” if a retired service member does not get approval to accept foreign payments. The agency cannot collect more than what someone earned in retirement during a period of unauthorized employment.
Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his dealings with top Russian diplomats in December 2017 and agreed to join the former special counsel. Robert Mueller
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The retired three-star general withdrew that plea in 2020 and the DOJ tried to drop the charges against him.
Flynn came into the spotlight again last year when he backed up Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election was tainted by widespread voter fraud.
Updated 10:02 pm