Mike Flynn penalized by Army for infamous dinner with Putin: newly revealed documents

Michael Flynn was cited by the Defense Department inspector general last year for failing to disclose his business dealings with foreign entities, including an appearance in December 2015 at an event with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The retired Army general and Donald Trump's first national security adviser was paid nearly $450,000 from Turkish and Russian interests in 2015, including an appearance at an anniversary dinner for the Kremlin network RT where he was photographed with Putin, and the Pentagon found no records to show he sought government approval for those arrangements, reported the Washington Post.

"The Army notified Flynn in a May 2 letter, obtained by The Washington Post, that it would seek to recoup $38,557.06 from him, zeroing in on money and in-kind compensation he received for a gala dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of RT, the Kremlin-run news agency," the newspaper reported. "Putin sat beside Flynn at the event and later told NBC News that he 'didn’t even really talk to' him."

Craig R. Schmauder, an Army lawyer, describes Flynn's failure “to obtain the approvals of the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of State resulted in a violation of the Emoluments Clause,” a provision in the U.S. Constitution which prohibits retired military personnel from receiving payment from foreign government without prior approval.

READ MORE: Lawyer asks out of representing Steve Bannon -- because he might be a witness at his trial

“When there is a finding that a military retiree has violated the Emoluments Clause, the United States Government may pursue a debt collection,” Schmauder wrote to Flynn.

The inspector general also cited Flynn's paid appearance at an October 2015 conference sponsored by Kaspersky Government Security Solutions, which appears to be controlled by the Russian government, and his work for Inovo BV, a company organized in the Netherlands that worked for the Turkish government.

The Army determined on April 28 that Flynn violated the Emoluments Clause and imposed the penalty, which Flynn publicly acknowledged in May, saying the Defense Department was “going to reach into my retirement and … take some money out.”