Trump security adviser Michael Flynn is investigated for his ties to Russia including dinner with Putin, TV appearances and a Merry Christmas text to Moscow ambassador A top military counsel to President Donald Trump is under scrutiny by US counterintelligence agents who have probed the new national security adviser’s communications with Russian officials. Michael Flynn, a retired three-star general who was among senior White House staff sworn in on Sunday, has come under investigation as part of a counterintelligence examination of communications between Russian government members and Trump’s inner circle.