Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn is citing the Fifth Amendment as the reason for refusing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee in their investigation of Russian election interference. He's also refusing to turn over subpoenaed documents, so the committee's chair and ranking member will now be sending the same request to his companies.
The committee leaders also said they were into the process of sending subpoenas to two of Flynn’s businesses, seeking additional documents. The lawmakers said they did not believe the businesses could invoke the 5th Amendment.
“While we disagree with General Flynn’s lawyers interpretation of taking the 5th, it is even more clear that a business does not have the right to take the 5th if it’s a corporation,” Warner said.
So apparently turning yourself into a corporate entity via names like Flynn Intel LLC does indeed have downsides. How about that? The Intelligence Committee also isn't meekly rolling over for Flynn's Fifth Amendment claims, either, and has sent a letter to his attorneys disputing Flynn's argument that those claims can be used to defy a subpoena of the requested documents.
Committee Chairman Richard Burr says senators will wait for Flynn's response to Tuesday's requests before they decide the next course of action, including the possibility of a contempt of Congress citation.
Won’t that be fun? Let’s all look forward to that.