Bush ethics lawyer: Trump should strip Flynn of military title

The top ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush on Thursday said that President Trump should strip his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, of his military title.

Richard Painter, who served as Bush’s chief ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007, told Business Insider that Flynn should lose his three-star lieutenant general title after it was revealed that he may have failed to get proper approval for payments he received from foreign governments. 

“The president is the commander in chief. We have a subordinate in the military who is in violation of the Emoluments Clause, taking payments from a foreign government and two, lied about it,” Painter said.

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“So, it’s good that he’s out of the White House, but he should lose his status,” he added. “That’s the next appropriate step. Someone does something that is unconstitutional, and they not only do it but they were told not to do it and they do it anyway, he’s out. That’s the only appropriate answer.”

The Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign states. 

Flynn has been the subject of ongoing controversy since February. The former national security adviser to President Trump resigned from his post amid revelations that he discussed sanctions with Russia’s ambassador and misled top White House officials about the nature of the conversations. 

Weeks later, Flynn acknowledged that he may have done lobbying work that benefitted the Turkish government ahead of taking his White House job. He registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department shortly after. 

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), on Thursday released new documents from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which Flynn had previously led, directing him not to take payments from foreign governments. 

But Flynn was paid for a speaking engagement at a Russia Today (RT) event in Moscow in 2015. Flynn did not seek permission for or disclose the payment to the DIA, according to another letter.

The documents released Thursday also revealed that the Pentagon’s inspector general is investigating the payments to Flynn.