Flynn will provide some subpoenaed records to Senate Intel Committee
WASHINGTON- Former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has agreed to hand over some of the subpoenaed records requested by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence pursuant to its Russia probe, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Flynn’s reported acquiescence comes less than a week after his attorneys said their client would not comply with the Committee’s May 10 subpoena and just hours after President Donald Trump’s personal business attorney Michael Cohen’s wow of non-compliance with Congress was met with the issuance of a subpoena by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
The first documents are expected by June 6.
Flynn resigned in February following reports that he had diplomatically engaged Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak prior to President Trump taking office and that Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about that conversation.
Those reports suggested that Flynn may have given Kislyak the impression that the incoming administration might be willing to consider lifting sanctions that were imposed on Moscow following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from neighboring Ukraine.
Shortly before leaving office, former President Barack Obama imposed additional sanctions on Russia after receiving information from the intelligence community suggesting the country tried to sabotage Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions in early March recused himself from the Justice Department’s Trump-Russia probe following The Washington Post reporting that he had twice met with Kislyak while a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Two weeks ago Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Muller as independent counsel in the Trump-Russia probe following two days of intense bipartisan criticism stemming from The New York Times reporting that recently fired FBI Director James Comey wrote a memo about a February meeting with President Donald Trump.
During the meeting the president reportedly told Comey that he hoped the Bureau would not pursue the investigation into Flynn’s correspondence with Kislyak and the retired lieutenant general’s reported business dealings with Russia media outlets.
Comey has agreed to openly testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at an unspecified date following Congress’ one-week Memorial Day recess.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.