Story highlights The US intelligence community has long assessed RT to be a propaganda tool of the Kremlin

Flynn was forced to resign as Trump's national security adviser

Washington (CNN) Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, was paid more than $33,750 by Russia's state-run broadcaster RT TV-Russia for a speech in Moscow in December 2015, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee has learned.

The US intelligence community has long assessed RT to be a propaganda tool of the Kremlin, writing in its January report on Russian interference in the US election that the organization had participated in disinformation campaigns aimed at the US.

Flynn had previously acknowledged the speaking engagement, telling multiple news outlets in July and August that he received money for the speech. But he declined to state the amount, saying that the source of the funds was his US speakers bureau, not the Russian broadcaster, which US intelligence agencies describe as an instrument of the Russian government.

"I didn't take any money from Russia," Flynn told Yahoo News in July.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter Thursday questioning whether Flynn reported the payment as required by both law and military regulations. In addition, receiving money from a foreign government without approval from his relevant branch of service violates military regulations.

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