Trump transition knew of Flynn’s pro-Turkey lobbying before White House appointment

The White House acknowledged Friday that President Donald Trump’s transition team was aware that retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn engaged in work that would likely require him to register his consulting firm as a foreign agent before Flynn was tapped to serve as national security adviser.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Friday that Flynn’s attorney contacted a Trump transition attorney to notify the transition of the potential filing, but said Trump was not made aware. Separately, Vice President Mike Pence, who headed up the transition, was notified in a November letter from the top Democrat on the House oversight committee that Flynn’s firm had lobbied on behalf of a foreign power.

Spicer rejected questions about whether the disclosures should have raised red flags about Flynn, saying “it’s not a question of raising a red flag.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the House Deputy Whip team at the East Room of the White House March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Spicer doesn't reject concept of 'Deep State'

But Flynn’s Justice Department filing, which revealed that Flynn’s firm worked on behalf of a Turkish-owned company to improve US confidence in Turkey’s business climate, raised further questions about Flynn, who was forced to resign from his role as national security adviser last month.

Flynn’s resignation came after a report alleged that he had discussed US-imposed sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador to the US during the transition and failed to disclose that part of his conversation to Pence. Flynn maintains he doesn’t remember discussing the sanctions and Russian officials deny that the topic came up.

Flynn’s consulting firm, FlynnIntel Group, received $530,000 in payments from a Turkish-owned company based in the Netherlands and this week registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department, acknowledging that the work may have benefited the Turkish government, according to foreign agent registration paperwork filed with the Justice Department.

Who is Sergey Kislyak?

The work came at the height of the US presidential campaign and while Flynn served as Trump’s top foreign policy adviser on the campaign. The contract did not end until November 15 , a week after Trump was elected president.

Pence on Thursday called the news of Flynn’s foreign agent filing “an affirmation of the President’s decision to ask General Flynn to resign” in an interview with Fox News.

A source familiar with the filing told CNN earlier Friday that the Trump transition was notified Flynn would likely file the foreign agent paperwork and that the White House Counsel’s Office was later notified after the inauguration.

Photos: The week in politics

Susan Walsh/AP

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions pauses during a news conference in Washington on Thursday, March 2. In a statement, Sessions recused himself from any investigation related to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. He made the decision after it emerged that he failed at his Senate confirmation hearing to disclose two pre-election meetings with Moscow's ambassador to Washington. Sessions spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said there was nothing "misleading about his answer" to Congress because the Alabama Republican "was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign -- not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee." She said Sessions had more than 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors last year.

Photos: The week in politics

Bloomberg/Getty Images

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress for the first time on Tuesday, February 28. His uplifting message was dramatically different from his usual rhetoric -- and also from his usual controversies. Read more: 6 takeaways from Trump's address to Congress

Photos: The week in politics

Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 1. The mark on her head was in observance of Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the holy season of Lent for many Christians in the West.

Photos: The week in politics

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

President Trump walks with his grandchildren Arabella and Joseph across the South Lawn of the White House on Friday, March 3. They were about to board Marine One for a short flight to Andrews Air Force Base.

Photos: The week in politics

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

From left, US Reps. Brenda Lawrence, Joyce Beatty, Marcia Fudge and Val Demings pose for a photo before Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday, February 27. Many Democrats wore white as a nod to the women's suffrage movement.

Photos: The week in politics

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer answers questions at a Washington news conference on Thursday, March 2. Schumer called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign after it was revealed that Sessions, during his Senate confirmation hearing, did not disclose his meetings last year with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Photos: The week in politics

The Washington Post/Getty Images

President Trump speaks to Navy sailors and civilian shipbuilders aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, a soon-to-be-commissioned aircraft carrier in Newport News, Virginia, on Thursday, March 2. He touted his calls for a multibillion-dollar military investment, promising a "great rebuilding of our military might."

Photos: The week in politics

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA/GETTY IMAGES

Supreme Court justices attend President Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday, February 28. From left are John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Photos: The week in politics

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

Trump greets Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after delivering his speech to Congress.

Photos: The week in politics

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

First lady Melania Trump, bottom right, is applauded as she arrives in the House chamber for her husband's speech.

Photos: The week in politics

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch visits the Washington office of US Sen. Angus King on Wednesday, March 1. Gorsuch has been visiting with senators from both parties.

Photos: The week in politics

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS/Sipa

A strong wind blows President Trump's tie as he arrives at Orlando International Airport on Friday, March 3.

Photos: The week in politics

The Washington Post/Getty Images

New Energy Secretary Rick Perry speaks at his swearing-in ceremony in Washington on Thursday, March 2. The former Texas governor -- flanked by his wife, Anita, and Vice President Mike Pence -- was confirmed by a Senate vote of 62-37. See Trump's nominees and their confirmation hearings

Photos: The week in politics

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Olympic gold medalists Adam Nelson and Michael Phelps are among those sworn in before a House committee in Washington on Tuesday, February 28. They called for greater international policing of doping in sports. "I don't believe I've stood up at an international competition and the rest of the field has been clean," said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time. "I don't think I've ever felt that."

Photos: The week in politics

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Members of the media look on as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, February 28.

Photos: The week in politics

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer walks across the tarmac Thursday, March 2, at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Photos: The week in politics

Win McNamee/Getty Images

An emotional Carryn Owens, center, looks up as she is applauded during President Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday, February 28. Owens' husband, Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens, recently was killed during a mission in Yemen. "Ryan died as he lived: a warrior and a hero, battling against terrorism and securing our nation," Trump said. The applause lasted over a minute, which Trump said must be a record.

Photos: The week in politics

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway takes an Oval Office photo of President Trump and leaders of historically black colleges and universities on Monday, February 27. The image of her kneeling on the couch sparked memes on social media.

Photos: The week in politics

The Washington Post/Getty Images

President Trump stands in the doorway of the House chamber while being introduced for his speech to Congress. See last week in politics

Prev Next

Flynn’s firm was not compensated by the Turkish government, but by Inovo BV, a company owned by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin, according to the Justice Department filing. Alptekin is also the chairman of a US-Turkish business council.

However, as part of the project, Flynn met with a group of Turkish government officials in September 2016, including Turkey’s ministers of foreign affairs and energy, the firm disclosed in the filing. The meetings came around the time when Flynn traveled regularly with Trump on his private plane and frequently introduced him at campaign rallies.

Flynn also wrote an editorial that was published in “The Hill” newspaper on Election Day that called on the US to oust an anti-Turkish government cleric living in exile in the US. Flynn’s firm acknowledged in the Justice Department filing that the op-ed was compiled using research paid for as part of the Turkish project, which Flynn did not disclose at the time of the op-ed’s publication.

US President Donald J. Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, DC, USA, 28 February 2017. / AFP / EPA POOL / JIM LO SCALZO (Photo credit should read JIM LO SCALZO/AFP/Getty Images)

6 days later, no more clarity from Trump on wiretapping claims

Alptekin told CNN on Friday that his firm is in no way funded by the Turkish government and said he contracted Flynn’s firm because “my company has clients that are best served when Turkish-American relations enjoy continuity.”

Alptekin said Flynn “made no representation about what he would do for Turkey” in a potential US admininstration and said he “did not say a single word about any position that he would occupy.” Still, Alptekin said he made clear how he felt the US-Turkey relationship should be managed, including under a Trump presidency.

Alptekin said he has not talked to Flynn or his lawyers about the foreign agent filing, but said he consulted with a lawyer about the matter who did not believe it was necessary to file the registration.

“I think it was an abundance of caution to do that,” he said. “I really have difficulty understanding the turmoil.”

CNN’s Ivan Watson contributed to this report.