Ex-Trump aide Flynn defies a ‘subpoena’
Trump seeks outside counsel
WASHINGTON, May 23, (Agencies): President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor Michael
Flynn defied a Senate subpoena Monday for documents on his links to Russia, saying it came amid a stream of “outrageous allegations” that “feed the escalating public frenzy against him.”
But Flynn quickly faced fresh accusations from a top Democrat saying he misled the Pentagon about his Russia contacts one year ago.
Elijah Cummings, the senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Flynn failed to report to Pentagon investigators payments he received from Russian bodies or attending a gala with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a gala in Moscow.
Citing internal Pentagon documents, Cummings said they “appear to indicate that General Flynn lied to the investigators who interviewed him in 2016 as part of his security clearance renewal.”
The revelation ratcheted up pressure on Flynn, the former defense intelligence chief who has become a key target in the explosive probe into links between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election.
In a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Flynn’s lawyer Robert Kelner said Monday that he was invoking his constitutional protection against self-incrimination in refusing to comply with their subpoena.
“The context in which the committee has called for General Flynn’s testimonial production of documents makes it clear that he has more than a reasonable apprehension that any testimony he provides could be used against him,” Kelner said.
“He is the target on nearly a daily basis of outrageous allegations, often attributed to anonymous sources in Congress or elsewhere in the United States government.”
The refusal to comply risked Flynn being cited for contempt of Congress. But in a joint statement, the panel’s chairman Senator Richard Burr and vice-chair Senator Mark Warner only said they were “disappointed” in Flynn’s stance.
“We will vigorously pursue General Flynn’s testimony and his production of any and all pertinent materials pursuant to the committee’s authorities,” they said.
Flynn is one of a number of Trump associates being examined in separate investigations into Russia’s election interference by the Department of Justice and several committees in Congress. The main focus of the probes is whether any of them colluded with Moscow.
But increasingly Flynn is being probed for his own allegedly deceptive behavior about contacts he had with Russians before and after the election.
Examining
Investigators are examining Flynn’s paid trip to Moscow to attend an RT television gala in 2015, where he sat with President Vladimir Putin, and his multiple communications with Russia’s US ambassador last December after the election.
Flynn was fired as White House national security advisor in February, just weeks into the job, amid concerns that he may have been compromised by those contacts.
Kelner told the Senate panel that if Flynn complies with the documents subpoena, he risks giving up the ability to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights if he is ordered to testify in person, or in any of the investigations.
The lawyer reiterated his offer for Flynn to testify “should the circumstances permit, including assurances against unfair prosecution,” which analysts interpret as seeking immunity for his client in exchange for testimony.
Meanwhile, former CIA Director John Brennan said on Tuesday it became clear in summer 2016 that Russia was attempting to interfere in the US presidential election, and that he discussed the issue with Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s FSB security service.
“It should be clear to everyone Russia brazenly interfered in our 2016 presidential election process and that they undertook these activities despite our strong protests and explicit warning that they do not do so,” Brennan testified at a US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing.
In related news, US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats declined to say whether President Donald Trump asked him to help deny any collusion between his campaign team and Russia, as reported by the Washington Post, saying his talks with Trump were private.
“On this topic, as well as other topics, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to characterize discussions and conversations with the president,” Coats said about the alleged request. He was speaking at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Also:
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is seeking outside counsel to help him during investigations into his campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, and has narrowed the search to four prominent attorneys, the Washington Post reported on Monday.
The lawyers who have spoken to the White House
and are widely seen as the finalists are Marc Kasowitz;
Robert Giuffra Jr; Reid Weingarten; and Theodore Olson, the Post said, citing four people briefed on the discussions.
The Post said the four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Giuffra met with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The person also said Kasowitz may have had dinner with Trump on Thursday.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meetings.
Names could still be added to the list, but two people close to the search told the Post that Trump wants a team of attorneys rather than a single lawyer to represent him. It cited them as saying the team is likely to have lead counselors.
The four attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Post said, and they did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. A White House official told the Post that the administration had no comment at the time.
The outside counsel would be separate from the White House Counsel’s Office, which is led by Donald
McGahn, who served as the Trump campaign’s lawyer. US intelligence agencies concluded in January that Moscow tried to sway the November vote in Trump’s favor. Russia has denied involvement, and Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia.