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No you've got it the wrong way around. Flynn hadn't taken any payments at the time. -Letters were issued on his retirement from the Military in 2014, not to take foreign government sourced money without advance approval from the Pentagon. Flynn accepted undisclosed payments from Russia in 2015. They couldn't know about something before it had happened.
Clearly no vetting of Flynn took place by the Trump transition team, relying instead on security clearance from the Obama administration. You would think that on offering such an important job as National Security Advisor there might have been some additional vetting? The White House don't appear to have any documentation at all, or if they do they are not providing it. Why not just provide the documentation if there's nothing to hide?
Yes, my timeline was off. The overall point remains, though. That the Obama administration allowed Flynn to maintain a security clearance despite what it had found out before Trump took office. So, yes, we can say that Trump's transition team insufficiently vetted Flynn (but this ignores the fact that those with the highest security levels have already been vetted and an incoming administration would have no real reason to redo the vetting process), but the Obama administration isn't blameless here either.
Was the warning an official letter directed specifically at Flynn or the essentially standard instructions given to all retiring officers? My husband received the same warning as a standard part of the things he had to sign for his retirement. They get them, by the way, because regular army officers can be called back to active duty when they retire.
That's a good point and you're right. The warning appears to have been the standard retirement warning letter!
Convenient or not, the Trump administration isn't to blame for Flynn having a security clearance. Flynn was able to keep his security clearance, despite the warnings he received (which had to have come from some sort of formal action/behavior on Flynn's part) from the Obama administration's DoD. Now, I don't think that's entirely fair, but let's get real here: Flynn's actions were apparently well known enough by the prior administration that it issued the warning letter.
The previous administration fired Flynn for incompetence and poor judgment.
"Fired" in the context that General Flynn's situation isn't properly understood by most non-military folks. He was relieved of his duty assignment and, given non-reappointment to a suitable position of his rank, was forced to retire.
Semi-semantics aside, though, this is irrelevant to the previous administration allowing Flynn to maintain a security clearance, even after they found out about his unapproved contacts with the Russians.
a news conference today, led by elijah cummings, outlines (along with two other documents), a cia letter to general flynn that explicitly warned him against taking payments from foreign sources without advance permission. Quote: "the pentagon's warning to gen. Flynn was bold, italicized and could not have been clearer."
following the documents' release, cummings criticized the white house for not co-operating in releasing documents related to flynn.
Yes, my timeline was off. The overall point remains, though. That the Obama administration allowed Flynn to maintain a security clearance despite what it had found out before Trump took office. So, yes, we can say that Trump's transition team insufficiently vetted Flynn (but this ignores the fact that those with the highest security levels have already been vetted and an incoming administration would have no real reason to redo the vetting process), but the Obama administration isn't blameless here either.
He was fired from the Obama Administration in 2014!
So what your are saying is that it was the Obama administration's job to issue sufficient security clearance so that when Trump hired him two years after he was fired by Obama, that should be good enough for a role as National Security Advisor to the USA?
No sorry enough with passing the buck. Trumps team should have vetted him and they didn't. They have no documentation at all.
If just once this administration could own up to a few mistakes, the rest of us might have a bit more sympathy, but they are incapable of owning up to anything. They always have to deflect blame.
"Fired" in the context that General Flynn's situation isn't properly understood by most non-military folks. He was relieved of his duty assignment and, given non-reappointment to a suitable position of his rank, was forced to retire.
Semi-semantics aside, though, this is irrelevant to the previous administration allowing Flynn to maintain a security clearance, even after they found out about his unapproved contacts with the Russians.
I was responding to the goofy claim that it was Obama's fault.
Heard a bit of a discussion with Evelyn Farkas(?) lady. Didn't catch the whole thing. Apparently most people who have the top secret clearance retain it for a lengthy period of time so that they can come and go as an advisor, sort of when needed.
For the most part, it sounded as though renewals are almost automatic unless you self report something or you let the clearance lapse.
Heard a bit of a discussion with Evelyn Farkas(?) lady. Didn't catch the whole thing. Apparently most people who have the top secret clearance retain it for a lengthy period of time so that they can come and go as an advisor, sort of when needed.
For the most part, it sounded as though renewals are almost automatic unless you self report something or you let the clearance lapse.
Yes I heard her on Maddow.
So either they really didn't vet flynn because they though the security clearance was enough, which would be incredibly incompetent, or they did and are hiding the paperwork from the oversight committee to protect themselves. Either way not good.
Blaming obama is ludicrous. Apparently flynn was very well respected until a few years ago. People who used to know him were shocked at the change. His son sounds like a winner too.
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Pentagon warned Flynn in 2014 against taking foreign payments
