Two former Trump campaign officials have turned over documents to the Senate intelligence committee related to its investigation of Russian meddling in the US election, but former national security adviser Michael Flynn is expected to plead the Fifth Amendment as opposed to complying with the panel’s subpoena.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has turned over documents to the committee, a source familiar with the filing told CNN on Monday. Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has also complied with the committee’s requests and answered its questions, according to Stone’s attorney, Robert Buschel.
That news came after word that Flynn would not provide records to the committee and will invoke his Fifth Amendment rights, according to a source close to Flynn.
Flynn’s refusal to cooperate comes as he faces scrutiny in several inquiries, including on Capitol Hill and a federal grand jury that has issued subpoenas to associates of the ex-national security adviser.
Flynn’s refusal to cooperate will also intensify scrutiny over Trump’s decision to hire him initially for the job and his decision to keep him on staff for 18 days after the President was warned by former acting Attorney General Sally Yates that Flynn may have been compromised by the Russians.
The Senate committee had asked Flynn earlier this month to produce all records over his communications with Russian officials by this Wednesday. But Flynn is expected to send a letter later Monday invoking his Fifth Amendment rights.
The source close to Flynn said it would be “highly imprudent for him not to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights” given that several members of Congress have called for his prosecution.
The Associated Press first reported Flynn’s plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
Flynn’s decision to decline the subpoena does not come as a surprise to Senate intelligence leaders, as Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, also told the panel last month he would not provide documents in response to an April request.
Flynn was back in the news last week following the revelation that former FBI Director James Comey wrote in a memo that Trump had asked Comey in a meeting to end his investigation into the former national security adviser.
Flynn resigned from the Trump White House in February after it was revealed he’d misled White House officials over his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, which included communication about sanctions.
Flynn previously sought immunity from the Senate committee in exchange for his testimony. Leaders of both the Senate and House panels, which are conducting separate investigations into Russia’s election-year meddling, rejected that request.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump blasted aides to Hillary Clinton for taking the Fifth Amendment in relation to the investigation of her use of a private email server while secretary of state. He said at a September Iowa rally: “So there are five people taking the Fifth Amendment, like you see on the mob, right? You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”
Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican on the intelligence panel, said Flynn’s decision would not stop the committee’s investigation, tweeting: “It is Mike Flynn’s right to plead the 5th. We will get to the truth one way or another. We need facts, not speculation & anonymous sources.”
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee and an intelligence panel member, said Flynn’s decision was “unfortunate but not unexpected.”
“I believe both the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees should continue to seek other ways to gain access to this information,” she said in a statement. “Already (Judiciary) Chairman (Chuck) Grassley and I have sent requests to the White House, FBI and Defense Department for memos, recordings, notes and other documents. The investigation will go on.”
Comey has agreed to testify before the Senate intelligence panel after Memorial Day.
Flynn is one of several former Trump aides to whom Senate investigators have sent requests for information to as part of the panel’s investigation into connections between Trump associates and Russian officials.
The panel has also sought documents from former campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.
The House intelligence panel, meanwhile, is requesting documents from former Trump campaign communications adviser Michael Caputo.