Like most Americans, Michael Flynn wants to retire comfortably. Unlike (most of) the rest of us, he had been relying on some mad cash from Russia to help make that happen. On Tuesday, the former National Security Director sat down for an interview with Real America’s Voice, a far-right network, and lamented the fact that the Department of Defense had found out about the nearly $40,000 he was paid in 2015 for a speaking gig in Russia and that they are hellbent on seizing it.
On May 2, 2022, as Raw Story reports, the Department of the Army sent a letter to Flynn, declaring the $38,557.06 payment illegal and demanding it back. According to the letter (which you can read in its entirety here):
“The Army has determined that in December 2015 you failed to obtain the necessary approval in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 600-29 before accepting compensation from an entity substantially owned or controlled by a foreign government in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. Specifically, the Emoluments Clause prohibits the receipt of such compensation unless Congress consents… 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).”
If $40,000 sounds like a lot of money to pay a disgraced politician, consider this: he actually gave Russia a discount on his normal fee, which runs between $55,000 and $75,000.
Turns out, RT got Flynn for less than his "speaker category" specifies: 40k.
Kremlin loyalist discount?https://t.co/SWYX5mVBum— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) February 18, 2017
LOL, I was right. RT got a bargain basement deal, haggled with Flynn to get a discount on his speaker fee. pic.twitter.com/Bg8gRh3AlS
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) March 17, 2017
Source: https://t.co/2CNJJy21fChttps://t.co/RBNhA6RI7N
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) March 17, 2017
Whatever the amount, Flynn is not happy to have to part with it, as he thinks the whole matter is just a way to further humiliate him.
“It’s just another dig, another means to embarrass,” he told Real America’s Voice of the situation. “They just want me to shut up, and I’m not about to. It’s not in my nature; I’m not designed that way. And I will tell you that it actually stiffens my backbone even more because, at the end of the day, they’re just going to reach into my retirement and they’re going to take some money out. Money… yeah, it means something, but at the end of the day this country means a heck of a lot more.”
You can watch the full interview above.
(Via Raw Story)