Bush ethics lawyer on Trump-Russia ties: ‘KGB agents running around the West Wing’

Richard Painter, President George W. Bush’s former ethics lawyer, said late Friday he has major concerns over the Trump administration’s ties to Russia.

In an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, Painter spoke about reports that former national security advisor Flynn was working for foreign agents while also working for the American government.

“It makes no sense to run a government this way,” Painter said. “This is a completely chaotic situation, and then Gen. Flynn lied about his contacts with the Russians, lied to the vice president, and we’ve had the attorney general in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee say he did not contact the Russians when he had contacts with the Russians.”

{mosads}“People are not being honest about their foreign contacts, and talk about this ‘deep state theory’ as if there are somehow Obama moles in the government under the Trump administration,” Painter continued.

“It’s the KGB agents running around the West Wing or the national security council.”

Lemon appeared shocked by Painter’s language saying “Wow, wow! That is a pretty strong — that’s pretty strong, Richard.”

President Trump’s transition team was reportedly told that Flynn would likely have to register as a foreign agent before stepping into an administration job. The White House claims Trump was unaware of his lobbying work.

Flynn filed paperwork on Wednesday to officially register as a foreign agent, and admitted that he may have done work that benefited the Turkish government. The retired Army lieutenant general was previously paid more than half a million dollars for work for a Turkish company.