Meanwhile, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn says he’ll invoke his Fifth Amendment rights rather than comply with a subpoena compelling him to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of an investigation into whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Russia allegedly to influence the 2016 election. Top committee lawmakers say they may hold Flynn in contempt of Congress if he pleads the Fifth, which protects citizens from being forced to incriminate themselves. During the campaign trail, Donald Trump blasted people who plead the Fifth.
Donald Trump: “You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”
Meanwhile, top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have accused Flynn of lying to Pentagon investigators last year when he applied for a renewal of his security clearances. In a letter released Monday, the lawmakers say Flynn told the Pentagon he had not received any money from foreign companies, when in fact only two months earlier he’d received more than $45,000 in speaking fees from the Russian television network RT. It’s a felony to lie to federal investigators. Flynn has also been accused of not properly registering as a lobbyist for the Turkish government last year, which is another felony.