The family of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn has set up a legal defense fund to defray expenses connected to the investigations into Russian election meddling.
“The various investigations arising out of the 2016 presidential election have placed a tremendous financial burden on our brother Mike and his family. The enormous expense of attorneys’ fees and other related expenses far exceed their ability to pay,” Flynn’s siblings, Joe Flynn and Barbara Redgate, said in a statement.
The statement continued: “To help ensure that he can defend himself, we have set up a legal defense fund, and we are asking Mike’s supporters, veterans and all people of goodwill to contribute whatever amount they can to this fund. “
A website has been set up for donations. The site notes only “US citizens and permanent residents may donate.” A source close to Flynn told CNN the fund will not “accept funds from the Trump campaign or Trump Organization.”
Flynn thanked his family on Monday morning, tweeting, “Lori and I are very grateful to my brother Joe and sister Barbara for creating a fund to help pay my legal defense costs.”
Bloomberg first reported in July that Flynn had plans to set up the fund to raise money for his legal expenses.
Flynn, a retired US Army lieutenant general, was forced to resign only weeks into President Donald Trump’s presidency after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the US.
Flynn has become a key figure in Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump’s campaign had any connections with Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.