Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, has been hired as a consultant for the Bosnian Serb republic, a role for which he was paid $100,000 for a month of services. These services included "strategic advice and counsel," "analysis and information research," and "introductions," according to foreign lobbying filings posted on the Justice Department website this week. This engagement marks the second instance of a Trump-pardoned individual working on behalf of the Bosnian Serb republic, following former Illinois Democratic governor Rod Blagojevich, who had been imprisoned on corruption charges.
Flynn's consulting work comes eight years after he admitted to secretly working to benefit the Turkish government. Both Flynn and Blagojevich sought to lift Biden-era sanctions imposed on Milorad Dodik, the then-leader of the Bosnian Serb republic. These sanctions were related to accusations of corruption and undermining the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War. The Trump administration eventually lifted these sanctions in October, but only after Dodik resigned, as a Bosnian court had ruled he defied a European overseer of the peace agreement.
The leadership of the Bosnian Serb republic has fostered close relationships with Russia, a nation that has supported efforts to weaken Bosnia's central institutions and oppose NATO expansion in the region. These interests are in direct conflict with the traditional U.S. and Western objectives of stabilizing the region and promoting democracy. The Trump administration, in contrast to previous administrations, has expressed a more skeptical view of both NATO and the European Union. Flynn did not respond to requests for comment regarding his recent work.