Flynn invokes 5th Amendment on Senate panel subpoena

WASHINGTON — Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn declined on Monday to comply with a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee as it investigates possible Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Flynn invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, according to a letter to the Senate committee from his attorney, which was obtained by Reuters.

The retired lieutenant general is a key witness in the Russia probe.

Flynn’s attorneys did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner, the top Republican and Democrat on the panel, said in a statement they were disappointed by Flynn’s decision, but would “vigorously pursue” his testimony.

The committee is conducting one of the main congressional probes into US intelligence agency reports of Russian meddling in the election and whether there was any collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion between his campaign and Russian officials.

Flynn apparently misled Pentagon investigators about his foreign connections when he sought to renew his security clearance in early 2016, according to a document obtained by congressional Democrats and released in part on Monday.

Flynn, interviewed as part of the clearance renewal process, said that all of his foreign trips as a private citizen “were funded by US companies”, according to excerpts of a March 14, 2016, report compiled by security clearance investigators.

In fact, a trip Flynn made to Moscow in December 2015, where he attended a gala dinner and sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was paid for by Russia Today, which US officials consider a state-run propaganda arm, according to documents previously released by the House Oversight Committee.

The document is the latest to shed light on how Flynn received a security clearance and was subsequently hired as Trump’s national security adviser. He was forced to resign from the job in February after less than a month for failing to disclose the content of his talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, and then misleading Vice-President Mike Pence about the conversations.

The Senate committee first requested documents from Flynn in an April 28 letter, but he declined to cooperate with the request. Then it issued a subpoena.

In response, his attorney wrote to the committee that “the context in which the Committee has called for General Flynn’s testimonial production of documents makes clear that he has more than a reasonable apprehension that any testimony he provides could be used against him.”