White House Points Finger At Obama Administration Over Flynn's Clearance
- 7 years ago
Amid reports that President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn is now being investigated by the Pentagon over a foreign payment, the Trump administration appears to be placing at least some of the blame about him on the Obama administration.
Amid reports that President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn is now being investigated by the Pentagon over foreign payments, the Trump administration appears to be placing at least some of the blame about him on the Obama White House, notes The Hill.
During a press briefing Thursday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the vetting process that Flynn went through before becoming the national security adviser.
Spicer responded by saying, “General Flynn was a career military officer who maintained a high-level security clearance throughout his career in the military. His clearance was last reissued by the Obama administration in 2016 with full knowledge of his activities that occurred in 2015.”
Spicer added, “He was issued a security clearance under the Obama administration in the spring of 2016. The trip and transactions...occurred in December 2015...so obviously there’s an issue that the Department of Defense Inspector General is looking into...But all of that clearance was made during the Obama administration, and apparently, with knowledge of the trip that he took.”
He later reiterated an explanation of the security clearance process and, in his words, “who adjudicated that.”
According to NPR, Flynn is currently being accused of receiving $35,000 from a Russian news outlet and $530,000 from a Dutch company with Turkish ties--neither of which he is believed to have reported or requested permission to collect.
Amid reports that President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn is now being investigated by the Pentagon over foreign payments, the Trump administration appears to be placing at least some of the blame about him on the Obama White House, notes The Hill.
During a press briefing Thursday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the vetting process that Flynn went through before becoming the national security adviser.
Spicer responded by saying, “General Flynn was a career military officer who maintained a high-level security clearance throughout his career in the military. His clearance was last reissued by the Obama administration in 2016 with full knowledge of his activities that occurred in 2015.”
Spicer added, “He was issued a security clearance under the Obama administration in the spring of 2016. The trip and transactions...occurred in December 2015...so obviously there’s an issue that the Department of Defense Inspector General is looking into...But all of that clearance was made during the Obama administration, and apparently, with knowledge of the trip that he took.”
He later reiterated an explanation of the security clearance process and, in his words, “who adjudicated that.”
According to NPR, Flynn is currently being accused of receiving $35,000 from a Russian news outlet and $530,000 from a Dutch company with Turkish ties--neither of which he is believed to have reported or requested permission to collect.