Why Michael Flynn will keep haunting the Trump administration
But perhaps the most damning of all of Flynn’s troubles — and the one that could keep haunting the Trump administration — is something that has little to do with Russia: Flynn was working for the Turkish government while working for Trump, which means that he was advocating for policies that benefited Turkey while serving as Trump’s national security adviser. And Trump may have known about this.
.. Taken together, they’re damning because what Flynn did gets at the heart of being a democracy: He was on the payroll of a foreign government while in a powerful position in the U.S. government.
Lobbying for a foreign government while simultaneously working for the U.S. government crosses just about every ethical red line you can think of, experts say.
.. ““Can you imagine a U.S. senator saying, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m a U.S. senator and, at the same time, I’m lobbying on behalf of Mexico’?””
.. What Trump knew about Flynn’s dual roles will probably be of keen interest to the special counsel the Justice Department appointed Wednesday to lead the Russia investigation. Did Trump know Flynn was also working for a foreign government? And if so, what does that say about the administration’s intentions toward other governments, including Russia’s?