The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Key post opens; Flynn signals new cooperation
One of the top posts at the White House is vacant and President Donald Trump spent time trying to fill another key position as the investigation into possible Russia ties to the Trump campaign continued to scrutinize members of Trump’s inner circle.
Communications post
Michael Dubke, the White House communications director, is resigning, while the White House ponders other possible staff changes. Dubke, a veteran Republican strategist, served three months in the role. Other changes could come by the end of the week, White House officials said.
FBI candidates
Trump interviewed more candidates to replace FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired earlier this month. Among the possibilities: John Pistole, former head of the Transportation Security Administration, and Chris Wray, who has been an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department and a U.S. attorney in Atlanta.
Russia investigation
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn will provide documents to a Senate panel as part of its probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, said he will testify before Congress if he is issued a subpoena, although he rejected an earlier request for documents.
WASHINGTON — Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will provide documents to the Senate intelligence committee as part of its probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, a person close to Flynn said.
Flynn will turn over documents related to two of his businesses as well as some personal documents the committee requested earlier this month, and plans to produce documents by next week, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Flynn’s private interactions with the committee.
The decision Tuesday was the first signal that Flynn and the Senate panel have found common ground. Congressional investigators continue to press for key documents in the ongoing investigation, and the retired lieutenant general is trying to limit damaging disclosures that hostile Democratic lawmakers could use against him.
Flynn had invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination in declining an earlier request from the committee. Flynn’s attorneys had argued the initial request was too broad and would have required Flynn to turn over information that could have been used against him.
Flynn’s cooperation came as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, rejected a request for documents as part of a House committee’s separate probe into Russia’s election meddling and contacts with the Trump campaign.
Cohen, a longtime attorney for the Trump Organization, remains a personal lawyer for Trump. He served as a cable television surrogate for the Republican during the presidential campaign.
The House intelligence committee’s request for information from Cohen came as the investigators continued to scrutinize members of Trump’s inner circle, including Flynn. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said last week that a subpoena for Flynn from the House panel was likely.
“I declined the invitation to participate as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered,” Cohen said. “I find it irresponsible and improper that the request sent to me was leaked by those working on the committee.”
Cohen told ABC News Tuesday that he had been asked by both the House and Senate intelligence committees to provide information and testimony about contacts he had with Russian officials.
In an interview published Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the allegations of Moscow meddling in the U.S. presidential election are “fiction” invented by the Democrats in order to explain their loss. In the interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Putin reaffirmed his strong denial of Russian involvement in the hacking of Democratic emails.
Cohen’s ties with Russian interests came up in February when the New York Times reported he had helped to broker a Ukraine peace plan that would call for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and a referendum to let Ukrainians decide whether the part of the country seized by Russia in 2014 should be leased to Moscow.
The Russian government denied knowing anything about such a plan.
Cohen was a fierce defender of Trump during the campaign. Cohen also owned and operated a fleet of cabs in New York.
Cohen’s business associates in the taxi enterprise included a number of men from the former Soviet Union, including his Ukrainian-born father-in-law.