Michael Flynn arrives on the West Front of the US Capitol for Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
Michael Flynn’s failure to disclose to the Justice Department his lobbying on behalf of a Turkish businessman may carry legal consequences for the former national security advisor.
NBC News reported this week that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team is investigating Flynn for failing to register as a foreign agent in connection with a lucrative lobbying contract with Inovo BV, a Netherlands-based consulting firm owned by a Turkish national.
In August 2016, Flynn’s firm, Flynn Intel Group, entered into a contract with Inovo but did not notify DOJ of the agreement until March 2017. Flynn received $530,000 for the work.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires Americans representing foreign entities to identify their clients to the Department of Justice within ten days of signing a contract and before starting work.
The Center for Responsive Politics collects and stores FARA filings in a searchable database in our Foreign Lobby Watch.
Flynn’s lobbying work for Inovo was generally pro-Turkish government in its message.
It included the hiring of a film crew to produce a pro-government documentary, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The film was never published.
Flynn’s lawyer maintains that Flynn’s work for Inovo was not subject to FARA because Inovo’s owner is not a Turkish government official and Flynn submitted the FARA filings voluntarily. Flynn closed his firm in November.
A subcontractor assisting Flynn’s firm disclosed in March that its work included preparation for a public relations campaign about charter schools linked to followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish religious and political leader currently exiled in the US.
Turkey’s current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, considers Gulen to be a political rival and blames Gulen for instigating a failed 2016 coup.
Former CIA…