After refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn will reportedly invoke his Fifth Amendment rights this afternoon to avoid congressional testimony. From AP:
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination on Monday as he notifies the Senate Intelligence committee that he will not comply with a subpoena seeking documents.
That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private interactions between Flynn and the committee.
Flynn was fired in February after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the content of his conversations with the Russian ambassador during President-elect Trump's transition period. At the time, the White House cited a breach of trust among "other issues" for his dismissal.
"We got to a point not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue with a level of trust between the president and General Flynn had eroded to the point where he felt he had to make a change. The president was very concerned that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said. "The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation in a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for General Flynn's resignation."
Flynn finds himself in legal trouble after failing to disclose his work as a foreign agent for Turkey, whose government paid him $530,000 as a lobbyist.
The FBI is investigating alleged ties between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government. Last week, the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Russia investigation.
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