Michael Flynn says US Army is ‘persecuting’ him with fine for taking money from Russian government TV channel

Retired Lt General was paid $38,557.06 by Russia Today to attend 2015 gala with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn claims he is being “persecuted“ by the Army who are trying to recoup almost $40,000 he was paid by the Russian government.

The retired Lieutenant General was paid $38,557.06 by Russian state-controlled television network Russia Today to attend a December 2015 gala.

The Army wrote to Flynn earlier this month to notify him that the payment may have violated the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution which prevents any office holder accepting a gift from a foreign state.

“The Army has determined that you did not obtain the necessary approvals before engaging in employment activities with Russia Today (RT), a foreign government controlled entity. Specifically, between December 10-13, 2015, you traveled to Russia and spoke at a conference hosted by the Russian news agency Russia Today (RT).”

The Army claims that Flynn was paid $33,750 for attending the event, where he sat next to Vladimir Putin, as well as $4,807.06 in travel expenses.

RT is a Kremlin-backed news outlet that shut down all of its operations in the US in March, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Flynn was convicted of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials before Donald Trump was sworn into office, and was later pardoned by the one-term president.

Flynn addressed the situation during an interview on the right-wing Real America’s Voice network.

“What I believe has occurred is the Department of Defense, underneath this administration, the Biden administration, they completed an investigation and they decided they are going to continue to persecute me by tagging my pay for what they call a violation of something called the Emoluments Clause.”

Flynn, who is a leading QAnon supporter and has backed Mr Trump’s false claims of electoral fraud, added: “It’s just another dig, another means to embarrass, they just want me to shut up.

“They’re just going to reach into my retirement and take some money out.”