President Trump on Monday blamed former national security adviser Mike Flynn's transgressions on President Obama, because Flynn had his security clearance renewed by the previous administration after he took money from foreign governments.

"General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama administration — but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that," Trump tweeted.

General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration - but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017



Flynn, who was fired as the leader of the Defense Intelligence Agency by Obama in 2014, is in hot water for lobbying for the Turkish government and taking money from the Russian government to speak at an event after he left government, without clearing it first with the government. The Constitution requires those payments to be approved, and Congress has authorized the Departments of State and Defense to make those judgments.

The Obama administration did renew his security clearance in 2016, and Trump made Flynn a top aide on his campaign and then named him his national security adviser.

Trump and his team have been criticized for not catching any of the red flags about Flynn during the vetting for his White House role. But the White House has cast the blame on Obama and argued they didn't do as much vetting on Flynn because he had already received a security clearance from the previous administration.

Flynn was fired after lying to Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the transition.