The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said the committee would send subpoenas to former national security adviser Mike Flynn after he refused to provide documents to the committee.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Wednesday that lawmakers will ramp up the pressure on Flynn after he declined to voluntarily provide documents about his dealings with the Russian government. Flynn refused to comply with a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee this week, instead exercising his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
“We similarly asked Mr. Flynn to come before the House Intelligence Committee and provide documents to us. And that request was denied,” Schiff said.
“We will be following up with subpoenas, and those subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information that we need. And I think we need to use whatever compulsory mechanism necessary to get the information that he possesses.”
Flynn was fired as President Trump’s national security adviser in February after it was revealed he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian officials.
Since his firing, Flynn has come under fire for possibly lying about seeking permission to be paid for a speech in Russia; retired military officers are not allowed to receive money from foreign governments without permission from the State Department and the Pentagon.
Flynn has proved an elusive witness to congressional committees. He’s refused to appear to testify voluntarily and has asked for immunity in order to tell his story.
Schiff said he doesn’t see that as a possibility.
“In terms of his request for immunity, that’s not something I think we would entertain until far later, if at all,” Schiff said. “First, we’d want to see what we could get without any kind of immunity either from him or from others.”
Todd Shepherd contributed to this report.
