President Trump made it clear early on that all employees of his White House must sign an ethics pledge. All—except Michael Flynn, apparently.
The White House’s former top national security official did not sign an ethics pledge ostensibly required of all Trump administration appointees barring them from ethically questionable lobbying activities, The Daily Beast has learned.
A spokesman for former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn confirmed on Tuesday that Flynn did not sign the pledge during his brief tenure.
The pledge, imposed by executive order a week after President Donald Trump took office, bars all federal appointees from lobbying their former colleagues for five years after leaving the administration and bans them from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments for life.
Confirmation that Flynn did not sign the pledge comes amid controversy over his lobbying last year on behalf of a company linked to the Turkish government. Flynn belatedly acknowledged that the work may have benefitted that government and notified the Justice Department’s foreign agent division months after the work took place, and after he had resigned from his White House post.
It also comes as the White House fields questions over mechanisms for enforcing the pledge, raising questions about the processes in place for ensuring compliance with the president’s own ethics rules.
Flynn’s failure to sign the pledge removes legal barriers to future foreign agent lobbying and advocacy work involving former White House colleagues, through his spokesman Price Floyd said that the retired Army general intends to comply with the restrictions detailed in the pledge.
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Scoop: Mike Flynn didn't sign Trump's ethics pledge, leaving him free to continue foreign gov lobbying if he chooseshttps://t.co/ZSBGJ0yJO5
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) March 22, 2017
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