On Monday, Michael Flynn’s lawyers issued a letter stating that Flynn would not testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee and would not turn over documents unless he was given immunity from prosecution.
President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination on Monday and declined to hand over documents sought under subpoena by a Senate panel investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
But ordering Flynn to appear isn’t the only option open to the Senate. Now they’re considering their next move.
The top two leaders of the Senate intelligence committee are leaving the door open to holding Michael Flynn in contempt of Congress after President Trump's former national security adviser said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights rather than comply with a subpoena.
The committee is looking into several options for how to compel Flynn to tell what he knows about his own communications with foreign governments and other such contacts within the Trump campaign. Flynn is under investigation from several points, including both House and Senate committees and the FBI, so keeping his mouth firmly closed would appear to be in his best interest. Whether or not the Senate goes ahead with contempt charges isn’t clear, but according to committee chair Richard Burr, one thing is …
"The only thing I can tell you is immunity is off the table."
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?"
But on Flynn, Trump isn’t wondering why his former national security adviser is avoiding testimony. Instead, he’s pressuring the FBI in every way he can think of to halt the investigation into Flynn.