USA TODAY International Edition
Senate panel: Michael Flynn risks contempt of Congress
Ex- national security adviser refused prior documents demand
WASHINGTON The Senate Intelligence Committee accelerated its pursuit of Michael Flynn on Tuesday, issuing two new subpoenas for his business records – and raising the specter of holding the former national security adviser in contempt of Congress if he continues to resist requests relating to the panel’s investigation into possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia.
The new subpoenas from Chairman Richard Burr, R- N. C., and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the panel’s top Democrat, come one day after Flynn, the retired Army lieutenant general, invoked the Fifth Amendment and asserted his right against self- incrimination by rejecting the panel’s demands for documents related to his contacts with Russian officials.
“I’ve said everything is on the table,” Burr said, referring to possible contempt proceedings. “It is not our preference today.”
Flynn was fired by the White House in February after revelations he lied to administration officials about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the U. S., Sergey Kislyak, before President Trump’s inauguration.
Burr also said that it would not be “appropriate” for the panel to consider Flynn’s previous request for immunity in exchange for his cooperation with the committee.
“As valuable as Gen. Flynn may be to our counterintelligence investigation, we do not believe it is our plan today to offer him immunity,” Burr said.
Flynn’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
But in a Monday letter to the committee outlining his client’s Fifth Amendment claim, attorney Robert Kelner said Flynn has been the “target on a near daily basis of outrageous allegations, often attributed to anonymous sources in Congress or elsewhere in the United States government, which, however fanciful on their face and unsubstantiated by evidence, feed the escalating public frenzy against him.”
As a result, the attorney said, Flynn has “more than a reasonable apprehension that any testimony he provides could be used against him.”
The new subpoenas seek records from Flynn’s two consulting businesses – Flynn Intel LLC, and Flynn Intel Inc. Warner said business entities – unlike individuals – cannot assert a right against self- incrimination.
In addition to Flynn, the Senate panel has issued subpoenas to former Trump advisers Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Carter Page for information related to their contacts with Russian officials. The committee has acknowledged receiving materials from Manafort and Stone, but declined to comment on whether their submissions fully complied with the requests.
The three advisers also are prominent figures in the ongoing FBI inquiry into possible coordination by Trump associates and the Russian government now being led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Mueller was appointed to oversee the investigation as the Justice Department’s special counsel after Trump’s abrupt dismissal of FBI Director James Comey. The appointment of Mueller came a day after it was disclosed that Comey kept detailed memos of his contacts with Trump, including a February dinner in which the president allegedly pressed the then- FBI director to shut down the investigation into Flynn.
Trump has denied making such a demand.
On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats declined to respond to a Senate panel’s questions about whether Trump pressed him and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers to publicly deny that there was evidence of collusion with Russia. The questions came after Trump’s requests were disclosed by the Washington Post.
“We do not believe it is our plan today to offer ( Flynn) immunity.” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R- N. C.