Flynn rejects Trump-Russia probe subpoena

National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during a Feb. 1 news briefing at the White House. Trump said his former national security adviser is right to ask for immunity in exchange for talking about Russia.
National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during a Feb. 1 news briefing at the White House. Trump said his former national security adviser is right to ask for immunity in exchange for talking about Russia.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in rebuffing a subpoena Monday in the investigation into Russia's election meddling. Then a top House Democrat cited new evidence he said appeared to show Flynn lied on a security clearance background check.

With Trump in the Mideast on his first foreign trip as president, investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign showed no sign of slackening in Washington. Flynn's lawyers claimed an "escalating public frenzy" against the former aide justified declining the subpoena for his records.

The attorneys told the Senate intelligence committee Flynn will not turn over personal documents sought under the congressional subpoena nor otherwise comply as part of its investigation. Hours later, Rep. Elijah Cummings, senior Democrat on the House oversight committee, cited what he said were inconsistencies in Flynn's disclosures to U.S. investigators in early 2016 during his security clearance review.

Cummings said Flynn appeared to have lied about the source of a $33,000 payment from Russia's state-sponsored television network, failed to identify foreign officials with whom he met - including Russia's President Vladimir Putin - and glossed over his firing as chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Obama administration. Cummings made his points in a letter asking the committee's chairman, Jason Chaffetz of Utah, to subpoena the White House for documents related to Flynn.

Flynn's own defensive crouch revealed the high legal stakes he faces as investigations intensify: a U.S. counterintelligence probe of Russia, a criminal investigation involving him and multiple congressional probes.

His attorney, Robert Kelner, declined to comment on the new assertions by Cummings.

Besides the "public frenzy," Flynn lawyers also said earlier in the day the Justice Department's appointment of a special counsel has created a legally dangerous environment for him to cooperate with the Senate panel's investigation.

Trump appointed Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and top military intelligence chief, as his top national security aide in January, only to fire him less than a month later. The White House said Flynn had misled top U.S. officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian officials, including Russia's ambassador to the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Senate committee's subpoena to Flynn focused on his interactions with Russian officials. It sought a wide range of information and documents about his and the Trump campaign's contacts with Russians dating back to June 2015.

Flynn's response stressed his decision to invoke his constitutional protection was not an admission of wrongdoing but rather a response to the current political climate in which Democratic members of Congress are calling for his prosecution. Even "truthful responses of an innocent witness" can give the government ammunition that could be used against him, the attorneys noted, quoting a 2001 Supreme Court ruling.

The attorneys noted if Flynn complied with the committee's request, he could be confirming the existence of documents, an act that itself could be used against him.