Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was under investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the White House campaign and the Trump team knew, two sources tell The New York Times.
Trump fired Flynn on Feb. 13, 24 days after he started the job, following warnings that Flynn lied to colleagues about his dealings with Russia. Wednesday night's revelation came amid a slew of reports about the Trump White House that sent up rumblings of impeachment. The Times report said the Trump team knew about the Turkey investigation weeks before Flynn was let go.
Flynn told Donald McGahn, the chief lawyer for the Trump transition team, about the federal investigation into his Turkey dealings on Jan. 4, weeks before Trump removed him from his national security post, the Times reported. McGahn is now the White House counsel.
Flynn was paid more than $500,000 to represent the interests of Turkey, the McClatchy news organization reported, saying that 10 days before President Trump's inauguration, Flynn told Susan Rice, national security adviser under President Obama, to hold off on a plan to take the unofficial Islamic State headquarters of Raqqa in Syria with the help of Kurdish forces, according to McClatchy. Turkey has opposed any U.S. association with Kurdish forces, McClatchy reported.
The Trump White House drew criticism after continuing to keep Flynn on the payroll after Sally Yates, former acting attorney general, warned that Flynn might be vulnerable to blackmail from the Russians because he misled Vice President Pence about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in Washington, according to the Times.
Former FBI director James Comey, fired by Trump on May 9, has said Trump tried to get him to drop the Flynn investigation.
Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe has acknowledged to federal lawmakers that an investigation exists into a possible association between the Trump team and Russian operatives to steer the election in Trump's favor, the Times reported. The investigation is taking place in Northern Virginia and includes focus on Flynn's foreign lobbying, according to the Times. A subpoena tied to the investigation has asked for records of Flynn's business dealings as well as records related to Ekim Alptekin, a Turkish businessman who is an associate of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Times reported.
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