President-Elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser continues to look worse and worse by the day. A former NSA employee just publicly accused Flynn of taking money from both Russia and Turkey, as well as breaching information security regulations.
Former NSA analyst and counterintelligence officer John Schindler accused Flynn of accepting money from the governments of Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
Flynn took money from Putin & Erdoğan AND he broke important INFOSEC laws+regs. If Trump stands by him now, he is a monstrous hypocrite.
— John Schindler (@20committee) November 24, 2016
I never thought Trump actually meant his #DrainTheSwamp yelling. I just figured he'd wait till AFTER the inauguration to let the mask drop.
— John Schindler (@20committee) November 24, 2016
Flynn Received Money From Turkey
A few weeks ago, news came out that Flynn had been working indirectly on behalf of Turkish companies that are linked to President Erdogan. His company, Flynn Intel Group, is a lobbying organization that was paid “tens of thousands of dollars” for “analysis on world affairs” by a businessman associated with Erdogan.
On election day, Flynn happened to publish an opinion piece for The Hill that urged the U.S. to support the Turkish President, saying:
“We need to adjust our foreign policy to recognize Turkey as a priority. We need to see the world from Turkey’s perspective.”
Flynn Received Money From Russia
Flynn was also paid to give a speech at a Moscow gala hosted by the state-run news channel RT. After his speech, he sat at the right hand of Putin, an image that would be broadcasted across Russian media for days.
This paid dinner came after many Western politicians had agreed to shun Putin internationally due to his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Complete Lack of Judgement
Overall, Flynn has shown he has almost zero ability to make intelligent decisions. He was fired by President Obama from his role as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency due to complaints over his leadership style.
His own subordinates mocked his limited grasp on reality as “Flynn facts,” and respected retired military leaders Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Adm. Mike Mullen have reportedly asked Flynn to exercise greater caution.
None of this looks very good for the future of our national security.
We have to hope that by some miracle the people around him are able to make up for Flynn’s lack of judgement. It seems like as each new senior position gets filled by Trump, our nation’s future looks even bleaker.
Watch the video below to see even more reasons why Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is a terrible choice for National Security Adviser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nka3Qb9LqBk
Featured image By Gage Skidmore Via Flickr/CC-SA-2.0.
