House panel adds subpoena pressure on Flynn for files
WASHINGTON — Subpoenas for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn piled up Wednesday as the House intelligence committee pressured Flynn to cooperate with its investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The prospect of new congressional subpoenas came one day after the committee’s Senate counterpart served its own subpoenas to Flynn’s businesses.
Meanwhile, the FBI told a House committee that it would not be complying with a Wednesday deadline to turn over memos written by former FBI Director James Comey detailing his discussions with President Donald Trump. One memo purportedly recounts Trump pressuring Comey to shut down an investigation into the foreign ties of Flynn.
Lawmakers conducting their own probe continued to pressure Flynn to cooperate by raising the prospect of additional subpoenas, while Carter Page, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, said he would testify next month before the House intelligence committee.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that U.S. intelligence services obtained information during the 2016 presidential election that showed senior Russian officials discussing how to influence Trump through his campaign advisers.
Citing three current and former American officials, the Times said U.S. intelligence officials collected information last summer showing Russians zeroed in on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Flynn. The Russian officials thought Manafort
and Flynn could be used to influence Trump’s views on Russia.
The Times said some of the officials bragged about ties to Flynn. Others thought they could use Manafort’s association with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who led a pro-Russian political party, to their advantage, the Times reported.
Earlier Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the House intelligence committee’s top Democrat, told reporters that Flynn declined to turn over records to the committee, and he said it will be “following up with subpoenas.”
Schiff said the subpoenas will likely go out this week.
The attempts to compel Flynn to produce documents were another sign of the intense focus on Trump’s former national security adviser, who was fired in February after the White House said he misled administration officials about his contacts with Russian officials.
In addition to the congressional scrutiny, Flynn is a target of an FBI counterintelligence investigation, a federal probe in Virginia and a Defense Department inspector general’s inquiry into the propriety of foreign payments he accepted.
In a letter to the Senate committee Monday, Flynn invoked his Fifth Amendment protection from selfincrimination in deflecting the panel’s subpoena for documents and information related to his contacts with Russians.
Flynn’s attorneys argued that if Flynn were to comply, he could be confirming the existence of some documents and so provide testimony that could be used against him.
They said an “escalating public frenzy” against Flynn and the appointment of a special counsel had created a legally perilous environment for Flynn to provide the information.