Michael Flynn Is Facing Penalties From The Army For Taking Russian Money

Former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn doesn’t have to worry about going to prison for lying under oath thanks to a pardon from his good friend, failed, one-term president Donald Trump, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to get off scot-free for playing footsie with the Russians.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Army is looking to punish Flynn for his failure to reveal that he received $45,000 from a Kremlin-controlled media organization. In return for the money, Flynn agreed to sit next to Russian president Vladimir Putin at a dinner held in 2015:

“The investigation focuses on Flynn’s acceptance of money from Russian and Turkish interests before joining the Trump administration, a potential violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause. With few exceptions, U.S. officials, including retired service members like Flynn, are prohibited from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments. Flynn retired from the Army as a three-star general in 2014.”

Army officials are also said to be upset by Flynn’s remarks about the 2020 election being stolen from Trump. Flynn even went so far as to suggest that Trump — acting as commander in chief — could declare martial law and order a “redo” of the election in key swing states where President Joe Biden triumphed over Trump.

If they choose, the Army could penalize Flynn financially:

Defense Department guidelines warn that it ‘may pursue debt collection’ if a retired service member does not secure approval to accept foreign payments before doing so.

In other words, all of the money Flynn earned working for Russia or other countries would have to be paid back to the Pentagon because he failed to disclose the payments he received.

Considering all the harm Flynn has done to the United States, it’s a shame the Army can’t just lock him up and also collect the ill-gotten money.