Former national security adviser Michael Flynn will refuse to comply with a subpoena to hand over documents to a Senate panel investigating Russian involvement in the presidential election and invoke the Fifth Amendment, according to the Associated Press on Monday.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued a subpoena earlier this month for Flynn to provide documents to the panel. But last week, he said Flynn was “not cooperating.”
Flynn is expected to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in a letter to the panel later on Monday, the report said.
The letter shouldn’t be seen as an admission of guilt but a response to the heated political atmosphere where Democrats are calling for his prosecution, AP reported citing a source.
Robert Kelner, Flynn’s lawyer, said in March that his client would like to tell his story “should the circumstances permit,” but also noted that it would be unreasonable to do so “in such a highly politicized, witch-hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution.”
Burr’s committee decided to issue a subpoena to Flynn on May 10 after he turned down a request from April 28 to hand over documents.
Other Trump associates – including former foreign policy adviser Carter Page, one-time campaign adviser Roger Stone and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort – were also asked by the Senate panel to provide documents.
President Trump fired Flynn in February after reports revealed he had been in contact with the Russian ambassador during the presidential campaign and kept White House officials in the dark about the meetings.
Legal experts told the news service that Flynn was unlikely to turn over the documents without a guarantee for immunity because he would be waiving some of his constitutional protections.